Both Sides of the Same Coin
by Daktasinsanity
Summary: Eren is a werewolf, captured by humans for experiments, and wakes up in a cell that he soon realizes he's sharing with a vampire. The two work together to get out of their unpleasant prison but the price for their freedom may end up being too high. How will they cope with the consequences of the choices they have made?
1. Chapter 1

_**AN:**__This story is based on a prompt that I received on Tumblr when asking for some ideas. _

_**Here is the prompt:** What if Eren is captured by humans, and he wakes up in a cell. He learns that he has a neighbor - vamp, Levi. They are being "examined" by humans, have various tests, and Levi is weakening and so is Eren so they make a temporary truce and decide to run away. They manage to escape somehow..._

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_**Chapter 1**_

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The sound of dripping water, as it rained, kept disturbing Levi's attempt to sleep. He had not slept well ever since he had been brought here. The noisy drumming of water drops against the ground outside had woken him up. To him it seemed as if the noise was inside his head, driving him crazy. He had never liked rain. Now he was forced to listen to its sound without a choice.

He peered around the room to see if there was any way to tell time but the clouds cast shadows and no sunlight in sight. It could already be night time. Levi closed his eyes with a sigh. There was nothing else to do than sleep anyway. He only could wait and hope to be left alone. Rescue was not coming and he knew that.

When Levi woke up, there was no sound of rain but even after sleeping he was still exhausted. He had no idea how long he had been here exactly and what was the point of him still being alive. He would not admit to it if asked but he was having very dark thoughts about accepting the fact that he would die sooner than later in this dirty, smelly prison cell of his but he would let them know that. Not in all of his years had he experienced such a time when he had felt that the days just dragged on, taunting him with their slow cycles from darkness to light.

Not to mention the ever present feeling of hunger. He was so hungry that he was ready to do almost anything to get a bite, anything that did not involve him getting experimented on. He had been having staring contests with his prison guard, stalking him like prey. Levi could see the fear in that man's eyes when he could stare at him unblinkingly for the whole time. Countless times he had imagined how he would rip that guy's head off and dance in the rain of his blood. He was not extremely violent by nature but these guys had him thinking of such wonderful thoughts. He would not hold back if he ever had the chance. He would suck that motherfucker dry with pleasure. He would make sure the guard would suffer as much as he had.

Levi's stomach growled in agreement. He hoped there would soon be something to munch on, like a werewolf filled with juicy, fresh blood, topped with cute eyes and fluffy pair of ears.

Wait a minute.

Levi was sure he was hallucinating but while he slept there had been an addition to his cell. He must have been sleeping soundly not to notice the cell door opening and closing. Levi cursed in his thoughts of his apparent failure to keep track of his surroundings while sleeping. Before being captured he had prided himself on his ability to wake up to any odd sound he heard that was not supposed to be there. No one had snuck upon him for a century at least.

This mouth watering addition was a young werewolf, sitting on the only part of the floor that was basking in sunlight. The werewolf was watching Levi carefully. The calm was only a facade. Levi could see that the werewolf was ready to fight if Levi tried to make a hostile move. He had to admit that if he tried to make a move on the werewolf in his current state, he'd sorely lose the fight. The werewolf looked healthy and the sound of his young, beating heart kept taunting at Levi.

Levi could almost hear the blood coursing through those veins. With each pump the blood flowed. His prey was right there in front of him but Levi knew it would be foolhardy to try anything. Inwardly he laughed at himself as he knew that it would come down to the decision of either trying to eat and keep himself as a puppet for these weird fellows who ran experiments on him or he could find his peace of mind and die at the hands of this werewolf.

He had a choice.

He finally had a choice that he could make.

The werewolf was looking at him with narrowed eyes, full of suspicion. Levi could not blame him at all. The guy was smart, sitting in the sun._ That is the only thing keeping you alive_, he almost said out loud. It wouldn't be smart to anger the wolf boy unless he wanted to die. Levi was still contemplating that choice and he did not want to make it hastily, no. He had to have some time to think if there was any other way out of this situation.

He could always try to get the werewolf on his side but what good would that do? Was there something he knew about werewolves that could be useful? More than anything, his mind kept screaming him to just bite him. Levi's mouth was parched with the lack of eating anything and the heart beat just a few feet away from him had his fangs extend themselves in anticipation to what was coming.

Needless to say, Levi was not exactly in his right mind to make any kind of decisions. He needed blood, he needed to eat to get his head straight. He wondered if the wolf would let him have some if he asked nicely?

As if the werewolf had known what he was thinking, the furry eared man said, "If you touch me, I'll kill you."

So much for being nice. Levi gritted his teeth, baring his fangs to the werewolf for a split second. That damn cub was observing him and Levi did not like it. He settled for glaring at the werewolf.

It was apparent that there was only one reason why this creature has been locked in here with him.

They wanted him to eat him.

But Levi was not fooled that easily. There had to be a catch. If he wanted to survive he'd get enough of food from this werewolf to do so but it would not give him back his full strength, no. He would need much more blood to regain that aspect of himself.

He saw what this was for. The people who had captured him wanted to keep him alive but not give him a chance to escape. Levi saw no other option than somehow get blood out of the werewolf. That meant he would be rushing in for a certain death. The werewolf was much stronger than he was and with that threat of his, Levi did not wonder even for a second if he'd be able to survive.

Levi licked the back of his fangs, trying to keep calm. He did not want to play into the hands of those people. He did not know exactly what they needed him for in the first place? Levi remembered the foolish way he had been captured in the dead of a night.

Those people were smart. They had set a trap for him to lure him in and drug him long enough to push him into a cage lined with silver on the inside. They had kept him locked up for weeks without any food until he was too weak to fight them. They had been sneaky. They had moved him during the day, giving him a cloak to cover him from the sun. Levi knew that if he had lashed out right there and then, it would have hurt him more than them.

Sun was a bitch.

That was the first things he had been experimented on. They had come into his cell. They had restrained him and shoved his hand into the sun.

They watched his skin burn. They watched as it blistered under the scorching heat.

"_How long does it take to kill a vampire exposed to sunlight?"_

"_I don't know!" Levi cried frantically as his hand was on fire, he could swear it was literal too even if there was no manifestation of flames to be seen. _

"_How long!?"_

"_Few hours at most!"_ he had finally answered and they had let him go. Levi had several times since then looked at the hand that had been burned. The sunlight was the only thing that he knew to leave such scars that now adorned the back of his hand. Those scars would never fade. He would heal from any other kind of damage without much of a problem but sunlight was much more deadlier force than anything else that had ever been inflicted upon him. They had cut him, burned him with silver but none of those marks were left on his body.

He might have considered ending his life by standing in the sunlight within his own cell. There was a window near the ceiling that cast large enough spotlight for someone to sit in, as the werewolf was demonstrating to him right now, but it would be long and painful death. That was not the death he wanted. It better be quick and painful. He did not accept anything beyond that.

The werewolf shifted, tilting its head to the side. Levi almost whined as he felt the strong urge to sink his teeth into that neck that was practically presented to him. 'Practically' meaning on the other side of the cell. He wanted to take a deep breath but resisted the urge. He did not want to give that sneaky creature anymore clues to how close to the edge of losing his mind he really was.

Levi closed his eyes. If he did not see it, it didn't exist.

That pulsing vein under that soft skin.

Levi licked his lips.

He could do it. He could just sit here and ignore that sound he heard. He'd pretend it was the sound of the rain. He'd make himself believe that and he'd be able to get through this.

A few feet away from him the werewolf was having the same kind of thought patterns but about surviving a possible vampire attack. Eren had been drugged by a bunch of shady looking guys. He had been spending his Friday night in a rather normal way for someone of his age. He hadn't been doing anything illegal or certainly not anything dangerous. He had been tailed for days or so they had told him when he had woken up in some sort of carriage, chained up to his teeth.

Eren did not know why they had targeted him._"We'll make a good use out of you."_ That's what they had said and Eren had not liked the tone they used one bit either. Out of all the possibilities he would have never thought he'd end up in a dungeon cell with a slumbering vampire. He had been waiting for the past few hours for the blood sucking monster to wake up. All his life he had been told that vampires were devils that would kill for all their victims by sucking them dry. Eren had found the things his father taught him just a bit suspicious when Armin had once pointed out that if vampires were that bad, why was it so peaceful in the human world?

Eren was not sure if he should believe his father or Armin right now. The man had woken and up had already been eyeing him like he was the most delicious piece of meat on the face of the earth. Eren had seen those sharp fangs of his and they did not look inviting at all. Eren had been expecting the vampire to attack him and, truth to be told, he still was. Eren had not wasted his time as he had been observing the vampire. One thing was sure, that pale man was hungry. That was why Eren could not understand why it had not attacked him yet?

Was it the sun?

Eren had sat down in the warmth of the sun just in case when he had noticed the notorious scent of a vampire emitting from the man sleeping soundly under the window. He had looked harmless enough while resting his head on his arms on top his knees. With the little knowledge Eren had about vampires, he had taken the precaution of sitting in the sun. Eren was not liking the way the sun light was fading slowly.

On the other side of the cell Levi was doing fine, his eyes closed, the sun was setting and he had willed himself not to move. He did not think about what the night would bring. He did not let his thoughts go there.

He was fine until he heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside the cell block that he was trapped in. Levi raised his head in full alert to see what was going to happen.

A group of people entered the space around the cell. The lead scientist who was a vicious woman walked up to the prison guard. She was protected by two men. They had rifles in their hands.

Levi pondered if they were finally going to shoot him. Heck, in this state that he was in it might actually kill him if he was shot right in the heart. His body was too weak already to heal serious wounds. Last time he had been abused had proved that even small cuts were taking time to heal, when they should have healed in a flash. So maybe this was his lucky day and he'd be rid of this miserable thing called life.

But things did not go as he expected, not at all.

"He has not touched him yet. He hasn't moved since we brought the mutt in," the guard, who had been here for quite some time now, said He was talking to that evil woman of this group of evil people. They were evil as far as Levi was concerned. Levi could not understand why they had picked him as their target for experiments. He had never killed any humans! Okay, maybe he was lying but none of these people had been alive the last time he had killed someone out of necessity. He did not kill people meaninglessly and certainly not for food. He was capable of eating what he needed without killing. Last time he had taken a life he had been protecting his clan. It had been a war that had caused so many meaningless deaths on both sides.

Well that was then and this was now.

The woman in charge, walked to side of the cell, looking at Levi. "Why have you not eaten, vampire?" Her words carried animosity towards him every time she spoke. Levi was just another vampire to her.

Levi chose not to answer if it meant they'd kill him faster.

The woman narrowed her eyes. "Not answering? Are you too hungry to talk?" she taunted him.

Levi just looked at her with bored eyes before shifting his gaze on to the werewolf.

"Shoot the werewolf in the leg," the woman ordered the man on her right.

Eren had no chance to dodge the incoming shot. He tried to move but did not make it in time.

Levi's eyes widened as he watched the werewolf gasp as blood spilled from his leg. It would be ridiculous to say the world stopped for Levi but in a way it did. The smell of fresh blood hit him like a ton of bricks.

It was as if the world had gone into slow motion.

Levi experienced every millisecond as if they were painstakingly long like hours. The blood pumped out of the leg, staining the fabric of his pants and falling on the floor as the werewolf clutched his injured leg with a cry passing his lips.

Levi could smell each drop.

Before he could stop himself he was on the move. He came to his senses for a moment, realizing what he was about to do when he grabbed the bloodied leg of the werewolf. Levi was kneeling next to him, his back facing the people outside the cell.

He met the green eyes with his own.

He saw fear in the werewolf's green orbs. He held the gaze and saw a question in those eyes. The werewolf had every right to kill him now as he had touched him. But Levi was neither biting him yet nor had the werewolf made a move to killed Levi yet either. Why?

They stared at each other. Levi was trying to convey that his intentions were not as bad as they seemed. Levi was crazy enough to think that if he saved the poor wolf boy from losing his leg to infection, they might forge a truce. Just maybe there was a way for them to get out of this hell hole. It was a gamble but Levi wanted to give it a shot. He could only hope the werewolf would not lash out at him. A wounded animal was the most dangerous kind of animal.

Levi made a small nod towards the werewolf in a way he hoped was reassuring, before his tongue darted out of his mouth, past his lips as he licked the blood off the skin. The sweetness of the blood elicited a soft moan out of Levi. It had been too long since he ate anything. He kept his eyes on the werewolf's as he closed his lips over the wound, sucking on the piece of flesh. He felt the bullet against his tongue. It was not deep in the wound and Levi carefully removed it with his teeth. The werewolf was whimpering. There were streams of tears coming down the boy's face. Levi knew it hurt. He saw no other option than sinking his fangs into the surrounding flesh.

Levi knew his bite would make the werewolf feel good. He would make him forget the pain and replace it with pleasure. It took only a few seconds for the werewolf to moan. It was not a moan of pain.

"He bit him! Good job, Geoffrey," the woman said somewhere behind them. "We can't have him dying on us just yet."

Levi let his eyes fall shut as the rich flavour of blood slid past his tongue once again. He was feeling just as good as the werewolf was. The starvation had only made feeding feel so much better. The trance he entered was brief but all the more satisfying.

He yanked his mouth off the leg. The werewolf whimpered again as Levi licked the wound close. His leg was already healing under Levi's tongue. He gently lowered his leg back down, licking his lips and reliving the short moment of bliss inside his head. Levi's movements were slow and precise as he left the wolf boy alone, returning to his spot under the window and hid in the shadows.

"That wasn't so bad now was it?" the woman laughed at Levi. "Ooh, look!" she exclaimed, pointing at the leg of the werewolf. "He healed the wound! I didn't know that was possible," she sounded astonished and scribbled notes down on a small pad that she had always with her.

"Tell me how does it feel to eat after two months of starvation?" the woman asked, looking at Levi expectantly.

Levi refused to speak to her. He would not describe the deliciousness of the heaven he had experienced. The feeling of a mouthful of blood that he thought he would not feel ever again. He drew his knees up and wrapped his arms around them. He hid his face from the others and let a smile spread on his face. There was a buzz in his ears and he felt the energy surging through his veins. He could not help but let it show on his face how good he felt and how happy he was.

He still tasted the blood in his mouth and he lapped his tongue over the smooth surfaces of his teeth. He fought back the chuckle of happiness that wanted to escape from his throat. He felt as if he was waking from a long dream. His mind was suddenly clear as the cloudless sky. He could still here the frantic beating of the werewolf's heart but he no longer felt the urge to eat.

Levi stayed unmoving from his spot in the shadows as the scientist woman tried to get answers from either of the occupants in the cell without any success. With a promise to come back later the people left them alone with the guard who resumed his post in the corner.

Levi was surprised to hear the werewolf moving towards him. Levi did not dare to move as he listened to the soft shuffling noises getting closer.

As quietly as he could, the werewolf spoke to him, "Why did you not suck me dry?"

Levi tilted his head to the side so that he could peer over his arm at the green eyes locked on him. Should he answer that? Levi stole a glance at the guard of theirs who didn't seem to have heard the question.

Levi looked at the werewolf lazily. He was coming down from his high and felt relaxed. The wolf boy seemed anxious to know what he had been thinking. "Was there a point to kill you?" he asked softly. His own voice sounded a bit alien to him as he had not used it for a week at least.

The werewolf looked confused as if Levi had said something that he was not supposed to say.

Levi sighed, closing his eyes. He'd rather enjoy this content feeling in silence, savouring it as long as it lasted. The werewolf had different plans, though.

"They said you have been starving," the young wolf pointed out. "I thought you'd go berserk."

Levi stayed silent as the boy talked to him in low whispers. The werewolf was sitting a foot away. Levi could so easily just snatched a hold of him and feast upon his blood but he would not do that and he had a feeling that the werewolf knew that.

Eren took in the haggard appearance of the vampire. "How long have you been here?" he asked out of curiosity.

"Five months or so. I'm not entirely sure," Levi answered. He had not really kept a calender but the seasons had changed from early spring to summer and by the frequent occurrence of heavy rain, it was probably fall already.

The werewolf seemed to be truly amazed for a moment but then his features got dark. "I do not want to spend that much time here."

"Me neither but here I am," Levi stated, feeling of sadness finding its way into his chest. He had never wanted to go home this badly. He even missed his crazy uncle. "More than anything, I want to get out of here." Levi contemplated if he should share his thoughts with the werewolf or not. He had nothing to lose other than his life which he had been ready to lose. Even if he told every secret he knew to the boy, it would do the werewolf no good because Levi doubted that either of them would survive to go home.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

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Eren was regarding the vampire who had fallen silent once again after their brief conversation. Eren wondered how he had stayed sane for being held captive for such a long time. Eren had yet to return to the other side of the cell and so he scooted closer to the wall, sitting along side of the blood sucking monster his father had always told him to stay away from. "Why have you not escaped yet? Aren't vampires supposed to be strong?" Eren asked quietly, careful so that the guard did not hear him.

Levi smiled bitterly. "Yes, but they know that and keep me in a state of starvation as much as possible. Even if I sucked all your blood, I would not reach my full strength anymore." It had been too long since he had ate normally. Admitting that fact to someone else made him feel utterly useless. "So, if you want to kill me, you can do it at any point. I can't fight you even if I wanted to." He had reached the bottom of his life. He was powerless like a newborn child.

Eren heard the obvious exhaustion in the vampire's voice. The man had been defeated on a physical level by these people. No wonder he had not attacked Eren. He grimaced as he thought how the fight with the vampire would be nothing but one sided bloodbath. In order to get out of the cell it was clear that the vampire needed blood. Eren could not say that he knew much about vampires but there had to be a way for him to regain his strength. Eren wasn't strong enough by himself to get out of here.

They would have to work together and it would require a great deal of trust on Eren's part. Maybe he was reckless when he spoke the next words, "But what if you fed from me little by little?" He would not know if the vampire would just use him but this was his only chance. Eren could only hope he would not come to regret this decision.

Levi did a double take. Had the wolf boy just said that he was willing to feed him? How messed up in the head was this wolf boy? Levi mulled the suggestion over. The idea of slowly regaining his strength was not a bad one but did he have the patience for that? He didn't want to spend any time here more than what was necessary. "That might work but it would take too long if we want to escape from here as soon as possible. I need to get blood in much faster pace," Levi said. "That would only be possible if..." he fell silent as the sudden thought entered his mind. No, he was insane to even think of that. That would be the last option he would use. No he would not bond with the werewolf in order to get out of here.

"If what?" The werewolf's voice was full of haste to get the answer out of him.

"Okay," Levi whispered. He might just as well tell him what he just came up with. The solution was simple but not an easy one. "I'll explain this to you once so you better listen up," Levi turned slightly towards the werewolf.

The young wolf was keenly hanging on every word he said.

"The only way we get out of here is for me to get my strength back and to be able to gain that I'll need more blood than there is in your system at the present time. There is one very simple solution to this problem," Levi said. "I need to bond with you. By binding our life forces together your body will start producing blood faster for my sake. Mated vampires hardly ever eat from humans because their mates provide the blood they need." Levi watched the reaction on the werewolf's face carefully. As he thought, it was a crazy suggestion.

The young wolf stared at him for a moment silently, eyes wide. "Are you sure that will work?"

"No," Levi admitted.

"You have not mated before?"

"I wouldn't be able to even suggest it if I had. Vampires mate for life."

"Same goes for werewolves," the young wolf whispered respectively.

"You see why this is an issue, right?" Mating was not exactly a decision to be made on a mere whim. It was a question mulled over decades, at least for Levi and now if he wanted to get out of this cell he might have no other option than mate with a werewolf he had met just met today.

The werewolf looked pensive. "I have not heard of a werewolf ever mating a vampire before," the young wolf said carefully.

"That's probably because it has not happened before." Levi knew that it was crazy idea in the first place. "Let's think this over carefully and if we cannot find any other solution then we could give it a shot. It will take some time either way for me to gain my strength. We can try without the mating if you want to but that could take months." He laid down the facts. Feeding off on someone could not be done in haste without killing them.

The werewolf nodded at him. "Yes, I can let you have some blood each day or something," the wolf agreed. "I do not want to bind myself to you until it is the last option we have."

There was a sudden clank against the bars of the cell. "What are you two scheming over there?" the guard asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

Levi dearly hoped that the man had not heard any of their words. If that crazy woman got any whiff of what they were discussing, they'd be in for a world of hurt. "We do not speak about this unless he is gone or sleeping," Levi whispered as quietly as he could, knowing that only the werewolf would hear him.

Eren nodded agreeing with that notion and returned to the other side of the cell, glaring at the guard who watched them carefully.

With a gruff the guard returned to his post as well.

Later that night the guard left for a bathroom break. They both listened carefully as the sound of his footsteps echoed, getting farther away.

"I have a question," the werewolf stated as soon as it was safe to do so.

"Shoot."

"Where are you going to bite me?"

Levi was surprised by that question. He had not expected it at all. "Feeling squishy about it?" Levi asked with an amused smile tugging on his lips. He could only imagine what it felt like to be bitten by someone.

"Kinda, because..." the young wolf's voice trailed off and he averted his eyes from Levi's whole being.

Levi suddenly understood what the werewolf was getting at. "You liked it, didn't you?" he smirked as the werewolf shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"I just don't want to look into your eyes when you do it."

That statement made Levi wonder if there was something about his eyes when he was about to bite someone? He had never had the chance to ask anyone. "Why not?"

"The look in your eyes is too intimate." What Eren had seen in those eyes when the vampire had first tasted his blood had been something raw and feral. It had been something Eren had only one word for, desire. It made him feel uncomfortable when he knew that the desire was not directed at him but at his blood. He was only food to this creature he shared a cell with.

Tonight was full of surprises as yet again something Levi did not expect to hear fell from the lips of the werewolf. "Then don't look. Close your eyes," Levi said as he stood up to move closer to the furry eared creature. "Quickly before that guard returns." Levi strode closer to him. "What's your name?" he asked suddenly remembering that he had not yet done so.

"Eren," the werewolf answered, screwing his eyes shut, waiting for the experience of being bitten again as if it was going to be horrible one.

"Eren," Levi purred mockingly as he knelt at Eren's side. The wolf boy kept his eyes shut tight as Levi placed his hand on the other side of his neck to keep his head still. Earlier when he had sucked Eren's blood, he had only taken a small amount. Now the soft skin of the neck was presented to him once again. This time willingly. He didn't need to look away or pretend that the soft pulse of Eren's heart was the rain.

Eren was tense under his touch. "Don't be scared," Levi whispered as his lips brushed the sensitive skin. Levi let his fangs extend themselves before he sank them into Eren's neck quickly, knowing that the initial pain would be gone much quicker by doing so.

Levi did not want to stop sucking as with each mouthful he could feel his strength coming back more and more. Eren whimpered under his grip which got stronger with each passing second.

His feeding was disturbed by the sudden noise of the returning footsteps of the guard. Levi's mouth quickly left Eren's neck and with haste he licked the puncture wounds. His saliva healed the two little holes away from Eren's neck and in flash Levi was already back on his side of the cell.

Eren had enough time to recover before the guard came back so that he was back leaning against the wall as if he had not moved at all. The guard did not notice the slight redness of Eren's cheeks.

For the next four days Levi fed himself from Eren and each time it made him chuckle how uncomfortable the werewolf was with the enjoyable experience.

"Does it always feel like this?"

"Like what?" Levi asked as he settled back on his spot under the window. The guard had not returned yet but he would soon. Levi was being careful with the amount he ate at once.

"You know," Eren said, a healthy flush on his cheeks once again.

Levi smirked as he wanted to make the werewolf say it out loud. "I don't." It was somewhat true too since he was eating plenty he didn't feel the rush of it anymore. But he had heard and seen quite a lot of reactions to the feeding. Pure bliss.

"Yes you do," Eren accused with a huff. "Why does it feel like this?"

"Because if it hurt like a bitch then my food would run away. It's for subduing purposes obviously."

"Ah," Eren commented with a sigh. He was feeling relaxed and did not want to move ever from this spot. "Are some people clingy?" he asked out of nowhere.

"What?"

Eren gestured lazily to his neck where Levi had just sucked his blood from. "You know, because this feels so good that do some people think it is something else?"

This werewolf was an interesting fellow. "You mean it feels _that _good?" Levi teased Eren.

Eren contemplated if that was how it would be phrased most accurately. "Yeah, _that _good," he agreed. Levi's bite made him feel funny in areas he had not yet paid much attention to himself. There was a mild urge to wrap his arms around the vampire and let him lull him into whatever paradise that existed in his arms. But Eren knew it was just a hoax. Death was the only thing waiting for him if he let Levi eat all that he wanted. Eren chuckled to himself at the thought, at least it would be a blissful death if nothing else.

"What's your name," Eren asked as an after thought. He ought to know the name of the man who was draining his life force bit by bit.

"Levi."

"Levi," Eren tasted the name rolling from his tongue. It was not a bad sounding name.

* * *

On the fifth day it became apparent that this arrangement of theirs was not going to work. Levi had hardly even started to feast on the blood when Eren was tapping his shoulder, frantically.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Eren felt dizzy as he chanted the only word on his mind at the time.

Levi, of course, let him go. As soon as he did, the werewolf slumped down on the ground, in a boneless heap, panting hard as if he had ran a marathon.

The vampire looked at the young wolf down on the floor. "Your body can't take this pace we are going with. Your blood is not replenishing itself fast enough."

Eren nodded weakly.

"Let me get you patched up," Levi murmured as he descended down on the werewolf to lick his neck clean. Eren was keeping his face turned away from his. Levi would have expected him to get used to this already but the young wolf always shifted away from him as soon as possible as if he was embarrassed.

Levi moved back to his usual spot. "We need to wait or you'll die at this rate and your body knows it."

Eren kept nodding at him until his eyes fell shut and he was sleeping without a care in the world. Levi cursed as he got back up and prodded the young man into a proper sitting position so that the returning guard wouldn't notice much of a difference. The werewolf's weight had started to feel light in his arms. Levi was so close to full power and yet he needed to wait. He knew he could just suck the boy dry and leave by himself but then he would keep thinking about those green eyes for the rest of his life. He'd remember the young werewolf who volunteered to help him.

That thought did not set well within him.

* * *

So far the guard had not noticed that Levi had been feeding off on Eren. Just to make sure Levi kept sending glares at Eren as if he hated his guts. Eren did the same. It was true that they did not particularly like each other so acting was not hard to accomplish. Levi would call it tolerating each other's presence for the sake of escaping.

There was not much to do in the cell and Levi had grown used to the silence. Eren on the other hand kept sighing when he had something he wished to say but didn't know where to start or if he should start at all.

That night Levi noticed Eren staring intently through the window. His furry head was basking in moonlight and Levi found himself staring.

"How long do you think it will take?" Eren asked and Levi was not sure what he was referring to.

The faint noise of the guard snoring in the background told Levi it was safe to speak. "Excuse me?"

"My blood to replenish?" Eren's gaze fell from the sky to Levi's face.

"I'd say to be on the safe side, at least two weeks."

Eren looked up to the sky once again. "It's full moon in a week." His words were a statement that Levi was supposed to understand what it meant without him elaborating any further.

Levi had a bad feeling about what Eren was trying to say to him. "And that means?" Levi asked just in case.

Eren licked his lips, looking down on his hands before taking a deep breath. "It triggers an involuntary transformation. My wolf side will be in full control for the night. I cannot be sure but if I am locked in a cage with a dangerous creature such as you, the result is not going to be anything pretty." Eren closed his eyes, leaned his head back. "We need to do it." A certain amount of finality dominated the words.

"Do what?"

"The bonding, mating, whatever it is. I do not want to lose my only chance of getting out of here just because I killed you by an accident."

Levi could see the logic behind that reasoning. It would be indeed unfortunate to die when they were so close to getting out of here. Only a week or two more of proper feeding and Levi was sure he'd be strong enough to break those bars that separated them from their freedom. Now the approaching full moon posed a threat that he had not even thought about.

"We'll talk about this later," Levi said as he noticed the guard waking up. The lazy bum was the worst kind of guard he had ever seen but then again it was not likely that Levi or Eren were going anywhere.

Not yet.

* * *

Eren seemed to be on the edge, waiting for the guard to leave on his lunch break. As soon as he did Eren opened his mouth, "How are we going to do this thing, tell me what do I need to do." He was nervous and started pacing within their cell.

"Calm down."

"I can't calm down when I know the possible doom is waiting just around the corner!" Eren hissed. "Do you think we can do this bonding thing while the guard is away?"

"Not right now," Levi quickly injected. "You need to know the details or we could screw it up. It's old blood magic and should not be taken lightly."

"But next time, can we managed it in the time he is gone?"

"Yes."

Eren let out a breath of relief. He stopped pacing and stood still, looking at Levi. "Tell me what do I need to do."

"The mating or bonding is an old ritual which will bind us to each other in more ways than just blood. First we pledge a blood oath. In our case it means we simply exchange vows to protect each other or something such as that. The wording has to be exactly the same for both of us. Then we'll have an exchange of blood which obviously means that we drink from each other." Levi saw Eren shudder at the thought. "Show me your teeth," Levi ordered.

Eren was reluctant to do so but he made a wry face at Levi upon request.

Eren had fangs but his teeth had been built for tearing meat. "You won't have a problem getting blood out of me with those." Levi did not exactly find that fact comforting.

"So is that it then?"

"Then the deal is sealed with a kiss."

Eren looked extremely suspicious. "Why?"

"It is a common courtesy to do so when sealing an important contract of any kind." Levi saw the look of displeasure on Eren's face. "Don't worry. Only a peck is enough. We don't have to tongue wrestle."

"Ugh." Eren took a few pacing steps. "And that will be enough for us to be bonded?"

"Yes," Levi assured. The way Eren kept wringing his hands suggested otherwise. "Is something the matter?"

"No, not exactly. I am just not sure if that will be enough."

"Why wouldn't it be? We'll be bound together by blood for as long as we live."

Eren wasn't convinced by Levi's words. "We'll see," he said in a rather unnerving manner.

"Okay," Levi said eyeing the young werewolf carefully. "Well, think about what you'd want to say in the vow. The shorter the better." Levi thought he hardly had to remind Eren that the mating was forever and he had to be able to keep his vow as well.

"What are the vows usually about?" Eren asked him, stopping his pacing for a moment again.

"Love, loyalty, protecting one another," Levi listed with a shrug. "We don't need to even consider talking about love."

"So loyalty and protection?"

"Yes, something along those lines. Anything you feel that you are able to keep. Empty promises won't lead to anything good." Levi had heard of stories were broken vows had brought misfortune and some even death to the ones that had broken them. As a kid Levi had not believed the stories to be true and his uncle had agreed that maybe they were exaggerating a little what actually happened to the vow breakers but the point was this the same. Vows were meant to be taken seriously and he told Eren that.

The werewolf nodded and looked pensive while sitting back down as they heard the faint echo of their guard's footsteps getting closer. The guard paid them no mind, yawning as he sat down with a newspaper to entertain himself for the upcoming long day.

* * *

"Still refusing to eat?" the most hateful woman Levi had ever met, asked him while looking at him through the bars. "There is a piece of healthy meat with juicy blood presented to you and you say no? Or has the werewolf beaten you? Doesn't he let you anywhere near himself?"

Levi stayed silent as usual. He had no reason to talk to her.

"Answer me or I will shoot the werewolf again."

Eren shifted nervously and looked at Levi, hoping for him to open his mouth. One bullet in his leg had been enough.

"Why do you keep me here?" Levi ignored all her questions.

"You know I wish to study you. We've been over this months ago," she answered.

"For what purpose? You tell me that and I'll consider answering your bothersome questions."

"Striking deals are we?" the woman mused. "Alright if you so wish to know. My goal is to find a way to kill vampires via blood. I want to find a way to kill every single one of your disgusting kind by taking away you the possibility of feeding on humans. If humans could be vaccinated against vampires, effectively killing the bloodsuckers after they have had their meal, world would be so much better place to live."

The woman was bat shit crazy but she did pose a real threat. What she intended to do would mean a serious problem for any growing vampire that needed blood to grow. The implications of what it would mean for the vampire society were too big to consider.

"Now hold your end of the bargain, vampire."

Levi shook his head. "I'm not going to suck on some dirty werewolf by choice. His blood tasted disgusting last time and I doubt it tastes any better now."

"I see," the woman stated as if she understood fully well what Levi's words meant. "So if I got you some pretty girl or boy to feed on, would you do it then?"

"Probably, but I'm picky about my food. You would have noticed that if you had been feeding me right."

"You are not a pet. You don't deserve such treatment," her words were cold.

"Did someone kill your cat or something? I hardly think this is the way to avenge the poor creature."

The woman's eyes turned icy.

"So someone did die," Levi stated.

"Shut your mouth you filthy beast," the woman spat at him. "Soon my first version of the vaccine is ready for testing. We'll see how you'll like it." She turned on her heels and left the cell area.

Eren was casting worried glances towards Levi but he could not say what was on his mind without the fear of the alert guard overhearing him.

There was not much to say to be honest. The threat the woman had laid upon them meant their time was indeed running out. The faster they got out of here the better.


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN:** I'm happy to recceive encouraging reviews for this one because I really like writing this. :)__  
_

* * *

_**Chapter 3**_

* * *

Levi's eyes followed the guard as he left for a break.

Eren was quickly making his way over to him. "I've been thinking," he said. "That I cannot go with the whole loyalty thing. I don't know you well enough to promise absolute loyalty."

Levi could understand that. Loyalty meant having faith and trust in someone. "So protection it is," he concluded.

"Yeah." Eren laughed out loud.

Levi thought the young wolf had gone mad so he asked, "What's so funny?"

"I just thought," Eren said, smiling and shaking his head. "That protection is exactly what I'll need when my father finds out that I'm mated to a vampire. He's going to skin me alive."

Levi grimaced as he thought of his own situation not being any better. "Surely it won't be that bad," he tried to assure Eren but the words sounded false even to his own ears. Levi knew that once he returned to his own clan, he'd be an outcast for sure. For several years there had been hints thrown at him that there was someone willing to mate him if he showed any kind of interest towards her. They had given him time to think about it with subtle hints that it was time for him to contribute to their clan and start having kids.

Levi did not know exactly what the council of elders would do to him but mating a werewolf could not mean anything good. They would not kill him, at least he knew that much. Most probably they would exile him from the clan which meant he would no longer be under their protection. So he knew what Eren meant. But if that was the price of his freedom and staying alive then so be it.

"Oh, you don't know my father," Eren said his words accompanied by a head shake. "I'm not supposed to mate until I'm twenty. It is a rule in our pack."

That reminded Levi of a another small detail that he wanted to know. "How old are you?"

"I'm eighteen," Eren answered.

Levi wanted to smack his forehead. So young. "I'm going to Hell," Levi muttered under his breath. There was no salvation for his soul anymore. This was not what he had had in mind when he thought he would get bound to someone but what other choice did he have other than an eighteen-year-old werewolf? If what the woman said was true then he'd have to settle for Eren.

"How old are you then?" Eren asked in turn. Levi's reaction gave him some idea that Levi probably was not as young as he looked.

"I'm two hundred and.. thirty something. I can't remember the exact number."

Eren stared at him eyes wide and mouth slightly open.

The more Eren stared the more ancient Levi felt compared to Eren. "Close that trap or flies will nest in it."

"Woah," Eren said his voice full of wonder. "And here I thought my father was old."

Levi snorted. "You are not helping, kid."

"Sorry," Eren apologized sheepishly.

Levi scoffed. They did not have much choice in the matter so they did not have the luxury to get stuck on minor details. So Levi decided to bury the thoughts of robbing something precious from Eren when they'd be bound together. It was possible that he would not ever love the wolf but he could at least try to keep him safe. "So about the vows," he started. "Maybe we should go with something simple as 'I promise to protect you as long as I live to best of my abilities.' How's that sound?"

"Is that really all we are going to say?"

"Didn't I already point it out that it should not be overly complex so that we can remember it from word to word?"

"Yeah," Eren said dejectedly. He felt bummed out that he would not get to say some fancy words. This was not what Eren had thought his mating would be like.

"Hey, don't get so depressed." Levi could not understand what there was to get gloomy about.

"But those words are going to be what bind us together. Let's not use the word 'promise' because promises are easy to break. I'd say we just state it as a fact like, 'I will protect you for as long as I live.'" Eren was determined to have the words right. "I don't like that hesitating tone that proposition of yours had."

"Okay, whatever," Levi simply said. He would not argue about this. He could understand that Eren wanted it to be specific. He could see the importance of it. As Eren had said, those words would be a defining factor in their relationship.

It made Eren happy that Levi did seem to agree with him. Maybe their time together would not be so bad after all. Although they had not yet discussed what would happen after they were free. Would they continue life together or would they part ways? Eren was not going to ask until they were actually free. He hated to make definite plans without knowing how things would turn out.

They heard the familiar shuffle of footsteps getting closer. Eren made his way back on the other side of their cell.

The guard entered the cell area a minute later carrying a tray. "Here's your food, mutt." He set the tray down and kicked it towards Eren, spilling the water and food. This had been his way of presenting food to him every day. At first Eren had been reluctant to eat but when he had started to "donate" his blood to Levi, the vampire had told him that he would need to swallow his pride and eat as much as he could.

* * *

Eren was anxiously waiting for the guard to leave for his lunch break. He tried not to fidget as he knew they had only a short amount of time to do what hopefully would assure them their freedom. He almost let out a sigh of relief when the guard finally got up, whistling to himself on his way out.

"Walk me through it one more time," Eren said with a haste.

"Just do as I do and you'll be fine," was Levi's calm answer.

Those words did not help to calm Eren's nerves. Nor did it help that Levi was taking clothes off. "What are you doing?" Eren asked confused by that course of action.

"I'm not letting you spill blood all over my clothes." Levi loosened his cravat around his neck. "It will be a mess if they notice that you bit me."

"Oh, right." Eren scratched his head behind his ear while looking sheepish.

Levi just shook his head slightly at the werewolf. He let the cravat fell on his lap and he opened the buttons of his shirt to slip it past his shoulders. "Come on, we don't have all day." He beckoned the werewolf to him. Eren looked so nervous that Levi sighed and explained the process one more time, "First we say the vows, just follow what I do but remember, from word to word," he could not stress it enough. "After the oath has been made bite me, draw enough blood to drink it and then we seal it with a kiss."

"That's it?"

"That's it," Levi repeated affirmatively.

"I still don't get it why we need to kiss."

"Just do as I say. It is the proper way of doing things," Levi argued and saw that Eren didn't still understand what he meant. "I'll cut your hand and you cut mine. That shows the trust we share. The oath itself represents loyalty."

"What about the blood sucking part?"

"Eternity and life."

"And the kiss?" Eren was highly suspicious about the kiss for some reason, Levi noted.

"Understanding and agreement."

"Oh, okay." The werewolf seemed to finally accept that there was a reason for it.

"What's your full name?" Levi asked.

"Eren Jaeger," Eren answered not knowing for sure what this was about.

"Levi Ackerman, remember that for the oath." Levi took hold of Eren's right hand. "Are you ready?" he asked, looking at the young man who still look unsure about the whole bonding thing.

Eren took a few deep breaths. He knew they did not have that much time to mull this over. "Yes." He nodded but stopped Levi before the vampire had any chance to proceed. "Could you bite my hand instead of cutting it?"

Levi sensed that Eren didn't like pain. "No. Me biting you would defeat the purpose of letting me cut your hand."

"Oh, okay," the werewolf answered once again. Eren did not really understand the point but Levi seemed to be rather adamant about it so he let it slide.

Levi made a small cut on Eren's palm. Eren hissed at the pain even being prepared for it didn't make it any easier.

"Now do it for me," Levi offered his left hand to Eren and the werewolf did a same kind of cut on his hand. "Once we join our hands together, no more speaking other than the oath. Do you understand?"

Eren nodded. "Yes."

"Good. Just repeat your part the same way as I do." Levi clutched their hands together, making sure that their blood smeared together. "I, Levi Ackerman, will protect you, Eren Jaeger, for as long as I live."

Eren took a deep breath and said, "I, Eren Jaeger, will protect you, Levi Ackerman, for as long as I live."

Levi hold onto Eren's hand, guiding Eren's head towards his own neck. For Levi this part was easy but he was not prepared how it would feel for himself when Eren bit down on his shoulder.

Levi gasped when the intense pain erupted on his shoulder. Eren's teeth sank into his soft flesh easily and for a moment Levi was sure that Eren would tear a chunk of it off. It seemed cruel to him that when he bit Eren the wolf moaned in pleasure because of it while the vampire himself was hurting like hell.

Making sure to gulp down the blood of the vampire, Eren finally let go, careful not to hurt the vampire any more than he had to. He still had not gotten used to the niceness of Levi's bite. He was on cloud nine for a minute or two and the small kiss he bestowed on Levi's lips did not seem like a big deal at all at the time.

Eren looked at the vampire, who was looking anything but pleased, waiting for his sign if it was okay to speak.

"Fuck, that hurt," Levi cursed, pushing himself away from the werewolf. "Shit," he cursed some more as realized the wound was not healing yet, blood threatening to fall on his shirt. "Damn it all to hell." Levi was pissed as he could not understand why he was not healing. The wound should have stopped bleeding almost instantly.

"Let me," Eren suggested, raising a hand to touch Levi's shoulder carefully. He hesitated to touch the other man since the vampire seemed truly angry and in pain. To his surprise the vampire let him touch him without pushing him away again.

Even if Levi seemed to permit him coming closer, Eren moved with caution just in case. The wound he had left on Levi's shoulder wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. There was a clear set of teeth marks on the pale skin. The wound was bleeding but not at alarming rate. Soon the blood would start rolling down from the shoulder though and Eren saw it as his duty to fix it. "I'll clean it."

Levi scoffed. He grimaced as he felt the filthy tongue of the werewolf's lap the wound clean. He tried not to think of the diseases he might catch from the wolf. One could never be too sure or careful.

Eren inspected the result of his work and found that the wound had stopped bleeding. "I think you should not put your shirt on until the wound has been covered with some scab."

"You think I have the luxury to do that? If the guard sees it, what do you think will happen?"

Levi had a point, that Eren had to admit. "Well at least wait until he gets back."

"Hmph." The werewolf was already bossing him around. "What the hell is in those teeth of yours?" Levi wondered out loud as he tried to figure out the possible reasons for the open wound. Maybe he had been poisoned?

"Eerm, it might be my fault," Eren said carefully, taking some distance from the vampire in case Levi got mad. "Werewolves leave mating marks on their mates and that might be why your wound is not closing."

"Mating marks?" Levi was tempted to put his hand over the wound on his neck but thought he better not or it might get infected. God knew how long it had been since the last time he had washed his hands. That reminded him to check his palm. The cut on it had already healed so maybe there was some merit to what Eren was saying.

"Yeah, it tells the other werewolves who is mated and who is not. You know, it is rather convenient to know that when the heat starts."

"Heat?" Levi was being serious. What was the wolf boy talking about. He had not realized that werewolves were so much like animals, having heats and whatnot. He certainly did not want to know about all of their dirty things they did. He should let Eren know that, lay some rules between them.

"Yeah, you know, twice a year females go through a heat to have children."

What? Levi already felt as if he had gotten more than he signed up for. "Stop saying 'you know'. I honestly don't know shit about your bestial ways." Levi was grumpy to say the least.

"I'm sorry," Eren said sheepishly. "Do you want me to explain?"

"You might as well. I'd rather know what mess I have gotten myself into." Levi fought the strong urge to touch the damn shoulder of his. Maybe whatever Eren told him would distract his thoughts away from the pain.

Eren was not sure where to exactly begin and if he would be any good at explaining something he took for granted. "Okay," Eren said and relax seeing that the vampire was reasonable enough to listen to him. It seemed foolish to be afraid of his own mate but he never knew what the vampire was thinking and since their ways of life were so much different from each other. Would it be alright between them two?

Eren settled for explaining the outlines of the werewolf society. "Mates are freely chosen and the mating marks obviously mark the taken ones." Eren looked sheepish as he added, "Everyone will know you are my mate now, simply from that mark."

"How? Does it look somehow different than others'?" Levi asked as he failed to see the logic behind a set of teeth marks being any way to identify someone.

"It's just not the bite mark but there will be a scent mark also so we don't need to see the visual one necessarily," Eren explained. "But the scent mark is should not be too prominent on you since you won't enter a heat being a vampire and all.."

The idea of smelling like a werewolf pet didn't sound appealing at all. "So now I'm now reeking because of you?" At least he wouldn't have to deal with that heat thing, right?

Eren grimaced but the vampire's reaction did not come as a surprise to him. "Well, that is one way to put it."

"Thanks a lot," Levi said but did not sound grateful at all. He couldn't smell anything out of ordinary himself so maybe the scent was something only werewolves could pick up. He could only hope that was the case.

"I can't help it! It's not up to me to decide."

"I know, I know." Levi waved his hand dismissively to silence the wolf boy. "So only females enter heat?" Levi asked just in case but as far as he understood the werewolves seemed to behave just like any other wolf.

"Yes."

"Good."

It took a moment for Eren to realize what Levi meant. "Oh no, I should be fine, I think," Eren said uncertainly. He was reminded that his pack had a male couple which was raising a young boy and Eren was almost certain the boy was adopted. He had never asked and the topic had never come up since no one seemed to think anything of it. After all, everyone were prepared to raise someone else's child in case the parents died or they needed help in any other way. One of their pack's absolute laws was that they did not abandon anyone who was originally part of their pack.

Levi picked on the uncertain tone of his that did not promise anything good. Levi had a feeling that Eren was hiding something from him. The young wolf did not sound so sure of some things.

"I'm supposed to be the alpha of my pack eventually but I guess that is only a fantasy now." Eren could already imagine the wrath unleashed upon him by his father when he found out about this. What would Grisha say? Eren's father had been always telling him that he should choose his mate carefully. When he'd see his mate, anything could happen. Eren doubted that Grisha would just swallow the fact that his only son had mated with a vampire. Eren was feeling guilty as he now carried the burden of ending their bloodline with this decision.

"Alpha?" Levi asked curiously. This was the first time he had heard of werewolves following the exact behaviour pattern of wolves. Maybe he could learn more if he could look into that more in depth. It kind of surprised him that he had any interest in finding out what Eren's life was like.

"Yeah, my father is the current alpha of our pack. I'm the only child so I should be taking over after his reign ends but..."

"I destroyed your future, didn't I?" Hadn't there been any other way to escape? Had they even tried? No but Levi already knew how strong the bars were and he doubted the werewolf would have been or would be able to break them. Werewolves were not known for inhuman strength after all.

"No, no, bonding was the only way out. I doubt those guys will let me or you leave here alone after all, you know."

"Indeed," Levi said contemplating what Eren had told him. "The guard is coming back. We'll talk later."

His words turned out to be true as Eren could hear the guard returning.

* * *

In Levi's opinion Eren started to act weird a day after later. Eren had seemed fine right after their bonding and Levi himself had not felt that much different. It was kind of disappointing but then maybe his expectations had been high. Though, he was not sure what he had been expecting to happen in the first place.

Eren on the other hand had changed in some way. Levi noticed that the wolf was casting long gazes towards his direction. The look in his eyes was the similar to the one Eren had right after Levi had fed from him. Eren's behaviour was probably due to the upcoming full moon or so Levi concluded.

Levi did not want to ask why and thus left the wolf boy alone. He had an other problem to worry about than some lewd gazes from his mate. The word sounded wrong even inside his head, yet alone, if he ever would utter it out loud.

Levi tried not to move as he sat on his regular spot as always. He had a bad feeling that if he took a look at his shoulder, he would see the blood seeping through the fabric of his shirt. He had redressed himself carefully but all of that might have been in vain. He dearly hoped that the possible stain would be overlooked by anyone paying any sort of attention to him.

First test came soon as the mad scientist woman marched into their cell block with a few men tailing after her. They were carrying guns as usual but one of them looked different from the others. It was a tranquilizing gun, Levi realized.

Without much of a warning they shot Eren with that gun and the werewolf plugged the needle out as soon as he could. "Hey! Don't shoot people out of nowhere like that!" The young wolf protested.

The woman just smiled coldly as they waited to effect to take hold of Eren. Soon enough the werewolf's movements got sluggish and his head started drooping.

The men that had come with the woman came into the cell and Levi just regarded them without making a move as there was constantly a gun pointed at his head. He pitied the werewolf and what they might do to him. A small nagging thought in the bag of his head kept reminding him that this was his mate that they were taking away and he had promised to protect him. What could he do in a situation like this? Nothing.

Silently Levi grit his teeth together as he did indeed want to prevent these men from harming Eren even when it seemed really stupid of him to do so. Despite whatever he was feeling inside he chose to stay still. He would not do a thing. There would be other times when he would be able to actually protect his mate and this was not the time yet. If only the werewolf came back alive that is...

The men grabbed Eren and dragged him away as if he was a lifeless body. The young man was already completely out of it.

Levi closed his eyes being sure that Eren would come back. He hoped so because then all would have been for naught. He did not want the hope that had reawaken in him to die so soon.

* * *

**AN: **This came out a bit earlier than it should have cos I am not sure how much of internet access I have next week, might have it all the time or might have none so.. :)  
Next chapter probably comes out either next weekend or then at the beginning of the week (a week from now).


	4. Chapter 4

******AN: **I see that this story isn't that popular on this site but that's fine.

_**Chapter 4**_

* * *

They brought Eren back the next morning. Levi hadn't been able to sleep until he knew that Eren was fine, safe and sound inside their cell once again, out from the clutches of that evil woman. Levi's eyelids fell shut as he lulled himself to sleep by listening to Eren's steady heartbeat. The young wolf was alive and well. His mate was back. Finally he could sleep.

Next time he woke up it was already evening and the sun was setting. The first thing he noticed was how Eren was staring at him once again. The gleam in his eyes has not dulled at all. Actually it had gotten stronger and the werewolf was breathing heavily. What had they done to him?

"Good evening," Eren said with a softer tone that Levi would have expected. "Is it hot in here?" Eren waved his hand lazily, fanning his face.

Levi was sure the temperature had not risen at all and Eren was sitting in the shadows either way. There was no way it was any hotter than it had been yesterday. "Not particularly, no."

"Shit," the young wolf cursed. Eren tried to keep his head leveled. He was not stupid enough to think this had anything to do with whatever the woman had injected him with. He felt slightly sick after that but this heat spreading through his body had begun mere hours after his bonding with Levi. "Do you remember when I said that the bonding might not be enough?"

Levi eyed him suspiciously. He quickly looked over to the guard to see if the bastard had heard what they said but he saw the guy was fast asleep. What an idiot. "Yes." Levi did remember that weirdly not so convincing way Eren had mentioned it.

"Well." Eren licked his lips, his gaze sweeping the floor before they returned to look into Levi's eyes. "I think we'll need to do it my way too."

"Your way?"

"Yeah," Eren just breathed out, not being really interested in explaining himself. Looking at Levi was much more important. If they were alone, he would do something he might regret.

Levi noticed this peculiar behavior once again but he tried to look past it. "Elaborate, please?"

Eren seemed to snap out of the weird state that he had fallen into for a moment. "You know, physical bonding. I already gave you my mark." Eren pointed at Levi's shoulder. "That is the first part of it, I think."

"You think? How could you not know?"

"Because..." Eren hesitated to tell him that he was too young to know. His father had told him that he would tell him when he was ready to be mated. "It doesn't matter." Eren faked a smile and quickly continued, "I know enough."

Levi doubted that but he let the werewolf have his pride.

"Anyway," Eren said to distract himself from the blue eyes that he kept looking at. "I don't know how to explain this to you properly because it is a feeling I have."

A feeling? What was that supposed to mean? Levi was about to ask when the guard coughed and woke up. It seemed that his question would need to wait until later.

* * *

Levi was cautious of Eren now. The way the werewolf was looking at him was unsettling. He felt as if he was being sized up. This was not the first time this had happened to him but at those times he could have chosen his company freely.

It was not that he misunderstood what Eren was silently implying, he knew very well what the werewolf was after, and it was the bond between them that made it impossible to ignore.

The feeling was faint but there.

Levi was simply waiting for Eren to make the first move.

Eren seemed to ignore the guard walking out of the cell block for his lunch break but appearances could be deceiving.

This was one of those instances.

As soon as the guard was gone, Eren took his shirt off. He stood up and stood in the middle of the cell, looking down at Levi.

Levi would have expected him to be nervous, embarrassed even, but Eren wasn't. The werewolf stood tall, relaxed in a strange way, the shirt dangling from his fingers and ready to fall.

"Do you remember what I said?" Eren asked being unspecific clearly on purpose. Levi didn't need to guess what he meant so there was no point for Eren to point it out.

While Levi thought up his answer and how to handle the situation, Eren was trying to stay calm. The area around his shoulders and neck was tingly. Eren bit his lower lip as he took deep breaths to keep himself still.

Werewolf mating was instinctual act once the partner had been chosen. It would begin with the mating marks, that was what his father had always told him. His whole life he had been told not to bite anyone in a certain way. He had been told not to sink his teeth in. He had been told that he should not ever leave his scent mark on anyone until he was of age and had a mate who would consent to it. He had been told to listen to his instincts when he had found a mate but this wasn't going as his father had told him.

Levi would not be able to leave a scent mark on him.

Levi was not reacting to him in any other way than emitting an aura of suspicion.

Levi was not a werewolf.

Levi could not read the signs that Eren was giving him.

Although...

Eren looked carefully at his mate. Maybe Levi was picking up something after all. His eyes were not as indifferent looking as Eren would have expected.

"Yes."

A shiver ran through Eren's body just from that simple word. Eren sighed as he realized how deep in this mess he was. He felt hot and he really wanted to get down and dirty with Levi.

But first he needed something from him. Something very important that he knew played a big role in their future. "The full moon is soon," Eren uttered. "I want you to mark me."

At his words Levi squinted his eyes but didn't say anything, waiting for Eren to more specific.

"Anywhere here." Eren traced a finger from his shoulder towards his neck. His skin felt hot under his finger. "But you should not drink from me. That woman tried her vaccine on me. I'd imagine her goal is to get you to feed from me."

"You want me to bite you but not drink? That might be a challenge," Levi mused. He had never tried that before. Drinking blood when he bit someone was a reflex more than a choice.

"I am sure you'll manage," Eren challenged the vampire with such simple words. Eren let the shirt drop to the floor as he took the last few steps towards Levi. He made a bold move by settling down on Levi's lap, straddling his legs. To his surprise Levi received him without a complaint and even adjusted so that Eren could sit down comfortably.

"But that's not all, is it?" Levi's hands had come up to meet him as Eren ascended into his lap. The werewolf's skin was unnaturally warm.

Eren had been about to say something similar himself. Levi's voice sounded so much smoother than Eren had ever heard. He had a hunch that it was not reality, that it was all in his head. "Yeah," he sighed. "I think I might be in heat," he continued breathlessly. The feel of Levi's cool hands on his skin was phenomenal.

"I thought you said you'd be okay."

"I know but.." Eren trailed off as he tried to maintain his sanity for a while longer. "I don't know what else this could be." There really was no other explanation for his sudden lust for Levi or the sensations that he was experiencing. A mere touch was pleasing in way he had never imagined could happen.

"Hmm," the vampire hummed as he took in the breathlessness of his mate, the way the young wolf shivered under his touch even when he did not meant it to be provoking in any way. "Let me guess," he said lazily and ran his hands up on Eren's sides and then back down again, slowly. "Your mating requires the level of intimacy we were not prepared to share."

"Yes," Eren's answer came out as a hushed whisper. "At least mark me if you don't want to go further."

"As you wish," Levi said although he had doubts about succeeding in the task. He tried not to think about eating but rather that he was trying to hurt someone.

As soon as his teeth sank into the soft flesh of Eren's shoulder the werewolf in his arms moaned. The feeling that Eren had came back to him like a backlash and suddenly he was unable to suppress a moan as well. Somewhere in his hazy mind Levi understood that this was what a physical bond felt like. As long as his teeth were attached to Eren, he could feel every single emotion the young man was going through. A spike of arousal ran through him and he did not want to suppress it. He understood what Eren wanted... no, needed from him.

Levi pulled back, leaving behind a nice set of teeth marks on Eren's skin. Eren got ready to get up. He needed to distance himself from the vampire since Levi had not agreed to mate him wholly. A tinge of disappointment rushed through Eren as he started to push himself away from his mate.

"Where do you think you're going?" Levi's arms fastened themselves around Eren, holding him in place, not letting him escape.

Confusion washed over Eren. "But I thought..." Levi had not implied he was willing, had he? Then why?

"Stop assuming things, Eren."

Eren gasped when Levi's hand touched the back of his head and yanked him down to crush their mouths together in a brutal kiss. He lost control of himself with a silent pray that Levi wouldn't be regretting his decision.

As soon as their mouths parted, Eren licked the side of Levi face slowly, leaving a wet trail behind. Tasting the thin layer of sweat on Levi's skin added to the arousal coursing through him like wildfire. Eren was beyond embarrassment as the only thing he wanted was to complete the mating and finally be whole. He had been feeling imperfect ever since he had bonded with Levi. He felt it in his guts that if only they went through with this, things would be as they should be.

"We don't have much time," Levi whispered. They needed to hurry if they did not want to get caught by the guard. Levi did not even want to think what would happen then. He forgot all of such thoughts when Eren started grinding against him in slow sensual movements. The werewolf had a knack for surprising him. Long gone was the innocent young man, now replaced with a horny one that had no shame whatsoever.

Eren's hands were already undoing the cravat around Levi's neck, leaving it hanging loosely around it. Next Eren's hands found and undid the buttons of Levi's shirt, tugging it out of his pants. "Are you sure?" Eren asked with a shaky voice. He needed to be sure that Levi was not leading him on.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Levi ran the back of his hand over Eren's abdomen.

"You are not the one burning inside." He did indeed feel like he was on fire and there was only one thing that he knew would quench that fire. He just needed Levi to give it to him.

"Burning?" Levi had only a moment to wonder about what Eren meant.

Eren was at his wits end so he snapped, "Shut the fuck up and do something about it!"

Now that was more like it and caused Levi to smirk. "Like what?" he asked teasing the poor young man.

Eren let out a feral growl, snapping his jaws at Levi. Eren was not really going to bite him but he was tempted.

They shared a heated moment of gazing in each other's eyes as if sizing up each other's intentions.

Levi leaned in, his lips searching for Eren's. His hands dipped into Eren's pants to cup his ass. It had been a few years since Levi had had a lover but never before had anyone shown as much passion for wanting him. Not once had someone been this keen and Levi could feel it. He felt it in his bones that Eren did want him. Let it be because of the supposed heat that the young wolf was going through or something else but Levi was glad to accept it.

Eren's whole being was trembling under his touch. The young wolf was breathing heavily, clinging to Levi's shoulders. Levi saw the clear signs of just how much Eren was waiting for this. The straining of the fabric of the front of his pants was one of those. "Strip," Levi ordered, feeling relief wash over him. That must have come from Eren. It felt weird to be receiving small bits of emotions coming from someone else.

Levi's command sounded heavenly to Eren and he quickly did as told. He got up on his knees, careful not to hurt Levi in his haste of getting out of his shoes and pants, the only things that still clothed his body. Eren's hands shook as he re-positioned himself back on Levi's lap.

Levi made sure that Eren's bare ass wouldn't touch the filthy floor beneath them. Eren was the one this time to mash their lips together into a hungry kiss. The werewolf was pressed flush against him, moaning into their kiss while his cock wept between them. Levi felt the wetness of it against his stomach.

Overcome by the urge to bite the werewolf, Levi wrenched his lips away from Eren's and sank his fang into the beautiful neck of his.

Eren's fingers dug themselves into Levi's shoulders and the young wolf let out a wanton moan. The sheer pleasure that Levi's fangs brought him, took him over the edge. Eren was in paradise, yes. He was willing to die right at that moment if Levi was the one to kill him. He wouldn't care as long as he continued to feel as good as this.

Levi didn't drink much, just a mouthful of the delicious blood that Eren had. The taste of his blood had changed since their bonding and Levi doubted that anyone else's blood would ever taste as good as Eren's. Not that he'd drink from anyone else than Eren ever again.

Eren grabbed hold of Levi's loose cravat and tugged at it to kiss him again. The young wolf seemed to enjoy sticking his tongue down his throat. It also came apparent that Eren liked to use his tongue for a lot of things other than kissing. It traveled down the side of Levi's face to his neck. Eren pushed the shirt of his shoulders to gain access to the bite mark that had not fully healed yet.

It surprised Levi that the touch of Eren's tongue left the wound, that would eventually show up as a scar, tingling. He would have have to analyze all this info later because now he did not give a rat's ass about what were the reasons behind for these things. There was a piece of ass being presented to him by his mate and there was no way he'd say no to that.

Levi offered his fingers to Eren for cleaning. He would soon be touching something that he did not want to get infected by any chance. Eren suckled on them and Levi could not resist the urge to say something, "Clean them good, just like that. Good boy." He saw Eren's ears flick because of what he said and he wondered what that meant. Was the werewolf turned on or was he embarrassed? Levi couldn't wait to find that out in the future, to learn all the little expressions and habits that Eren had.

Eren reached his shaking hands to open Levi's pants and getting out the price he had been waiting for this whole time. He wanted it and it seemed illogical to him but part of him kept saying in the back of his mind that this was the way it should be.

Levi did nothing to help him. He wanted to see how far Eren's knowledge reached on such matters. Eren had seemed so confident about the whole act but Levi suspected it was mostly due to the instincts telling the young wolf what to do. So while the young wolf was on his way to free his cock, Levi reached for his ass. He had a fear that he would be hurting the werewolf shortly but to his amazement he found slickness already present, oozing out of Eren's asshole. After a moment of confusion he assumed it was a werewolf thing and thought nothing further of it.

Eren halted his quest for Levi's cock when the vampire inserted a finger inside him. The burning inside of him got worse but it stung only for a brief moment and then it was gone and pleasure took over. Eren trembled as he clutched hold of something that would keep him grounded. Ever since Levi had marked him, ever since he had fed from him and ever since he had cum, Eren's sensations had been heightened. His whole body was shaking and buzzing for more.

Eren was clinging to Levi's shirt as Levi gently opened him up. Levi felt a tinge of guilt for doing this but they had already gone too far to go back now and he doubted that Eren would listen to him now. He doubted that Eren even could listen since his heat was strongly controlling his urges. It might be even dangerous to stop now, for both of them.

Eren's mouth found its way to Levi's neck and the werewolf preoccupied himself by kissing and licking it. Eren felt as if he would lose himself if he did not shift his attention to something else than the fingers stretching him. He cried out when Levi hit something inside him that he didn't even know existed.

Levi concluded that he had tortured the poor boy long enough and retreated his fingers out of him, causing Eren to whimper at the loss. The werewolf looked at him with slight panic in his eyes. "Shhh," Levi hushed soothingly. "We are just getting started," he told the young wolf and he finished what Eren had started, freeing his cock from his pants finally. Levi almost laughed at the eagerness that Eren showed when he saw Levi's erection. The young wolf had never looked more like a dog. His ears were suddenly perked upon his head when they had been flat against his skull for almost the whole time. If Eren had had a tail, Levi was sure it would have been wagging.

Levi shifted closer, nudging Eren closer as well. He easily lifted Eren's hips and brought him to the right position. He heard Eren gulp in anticipation and it was surprising how still the werewolf had become. Eren hold on to him as Levi guided himself in to the scorching heat of Eren's ass. "Shit," the vampire cursed. He definitely had never experienced this before. He tried to pull back as soon as he was in but Eren wouldn't let him.

The content sight that left from Eren's lips made him think twice and endure the heat.

Then suddenly gone was the sudden stillness of Eren's and the tranquility was broken by a howl. It surprised Levi so much that he jumped a little. He hoped that the howl had gone unheard by the guard or anyone else. As soon as Eren was done with his howling, he bit down on Levi's mark once again. This time though, Levi did not feel pain, pleasure erupted through his body and he gasped out loud, squeezing Eren's hips tightly.

Levi briefly wondered if he was supposed to bite Eren again as well? The werewolf had not explained the fine details of his mating rituals. Did the young wolf even know them? Just in case Levi refreshed the bite mark that he had left on Eren's shoulder. As an almost instant reaction Eren started humping his hips up and down on his cock, riding the fuck out of him.

Levi was used to being in control but the way Eren didn't give a damn was exhilarating in its own way. Usually his bed partners would ask what he wanted and let him do as he pleased but Eren did not pause, no. The young wolf licked the wound he had caused, lapping it up as he fucked himself on Levi's cock. The moans escaping his lips finally drove Levi to thrust into him with the same pace.

It didn't take long for Eren to reach his peak once again and his moans turned into cries. Eren was actually crying but not stopping his movements. Levi would have felt concern for him if he had not felt through their bond that the young man was anything but hurt.

Eren howled again but not as loud as the first time. Levi hoped that no one had paid any mind to the sounds coming from the cell. This was not the moment he would want to get caught. He was so close to release himself. The smell of sweat coming off from Eren was driving him crazy. He would never admit that out loud but he liked the dirtiness involved in sex. He didn't mind in the least that Eren was licking his face or sinking his dirty fingers into his hair, twisting his head up to kiss him with sloppy kisses.

He didn't mind and he doubted he ever would.

* * *

Eren slept peacefully, resting his head on Levi's shoulder. The vampire had his arm around Eren's shoulders, keeping the young wolf near him. He reflected on how he had felt before and after they had consummated their bond on a physical level. Levi felt complete in a way he'd never thought he would. The werewolf had been right that the blood bond had not been enough. It had been emotionless type of bonding and now there was emotions, vibrations of what they were both feeling coursing through Levi.

At first it seemed surprising and overwhelming but as the werewolf slept on, Levi got hold of himself. He smiled to himself as he remembered his uncle telling him once that he'd never know what being mated meant until he was. He understood it now. He was inseparable part of Eren as Eren was of him. It was illogical to him that he'd care for someone else so quickly but that he did. He'd make sure to keep his oath of protecting Eren. He'd break them out of this hell hole and they could get on with their lives. Levi didn't dare to even think where they'd go after they were free. Showing up in front of his uncle with Eren might not be the best choice. They'd figure something out.

Suddenly Levi heard the guard coming back, he quickly reached for his cloak that he had shed long ago. He hadn't had any need for it until now. He spread it over Eren's bare form and hid Eren's pants and shoes under the cloak as well. There was nothing he could about the shirt that Eren had dropped in the middle of the cell.

He feigned ignorance as the guard came in. The human would not be able to detect what had transpired in the cell because of the murkiness of the damn place.

But, the idiot had something to say nevertheless. "Aaw, look at you two, all buddy buddy now, aren't you?" The guard smirked with a filthy smile on his face as if he knew what had happened. The human probably could imagine it but not believe it.

Levi ignored him, not giving the man the satisfaction of getting and answer out of him.

* * *

"It's tonight," Eren said out of blue. He was back to his side of the cell, fully clothed too.

It had been amusing to watch him dress as Levi could feel the embarrassment underlining each movement the boy had made. "The full moon?" he asked assuming that was the only thing Eren could be talking about.

"Yeah." Eren looked up to the sky even though it was still too early to be worried.

"What do you think will happen?" Levi asked out of curiosity. Surely Eren had some idea what might occur.

"I don't know. I am almost one hundred percent sure that we should be fine. You are my mate and ..." the werewolf suddenly trailed off. Eren buried his face into his hands, his ears flattening against the back of his head.

Levi narrowed his eyes at the silent wolf. Eren was definitely embarrassed right now. Was he thinking of their mating the previous day? So the innocent young boy was back, huh? "No longer under the influence of the heat I presume?" Levi asked teasing his mate.

"I'm so sorry about that," Eren said sheepishly.

"Why? I enjoyed it." Levi commented with a teasing smirk playing on his lips.

"Oh god," Eren gasped out. "I honestly didn't know that I would... do that." Eren hadn't been prepared to what he had gone through. He had, however, thought of the possibility that they would need to mate like that but he had thought of a different way to approach the issue, not by fucking shamelessly with his mate so suddenly, all out of control.

"What's done is done," Levi stated, hoping to ease Eren's mind. "If it really bothers you then just think of it as an act of survival."

His words didn't seem to have much of an effect on the werewolf but Eren did eventually stop hiding behind his hands but he didn't spare a glance at Levi.

So much for feeling wanted, eh?


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

* * *

Eren had drawn his knees up to his chest, hiding his face in his arms. How would he be able to face Levi every again after that embarrassing heat he had gone through?

"_I enjoyed it,"_ Levi had told him that. Eren's ears flicked in shame, they were drawn towards the back of his head as he sat quietly mulling the experience inside his head. Had he done everything he was supposed to? Was the mating now complete? Surely he didn't have to go through that again, did he?

The bite mark on his shoulder was tingling pleasantly but otherwise Eren wasn't feeling like that. Minutes ticked away, closer and closer towards the sunset and time for his transformation. But Eren knew what that felt like and he didn't normally feel this way. It had to be the vaccine that the mad scientist woman had given to him.

Eren suddenly gasped as he realized that Levi had drank from him during their mating. Wide eyed he raised his head to look at his mate. At fist glance he would have thought that Levi was sleeping but something was not right.

Eren glanced at the guard nervously. He hesitated about going over to check if Levi was alright. Eren continued to observe the vampire whose eyes were closed and mouth slightly parted. Levi's head was thrown back, resting against the wall behind him. Eren bit his lower lip as he gathered his courage to go and see if Levi was breathing. Did vampires breathe? Eren wondered about that question as he slowly approached his mate.

"Levi?" he called out quietly. There was no reaction at all. Eren hesitantly touched Levi's shoulder lightly and shook it. "Levi?" he asked again but the vampire did not answer him. "Hey!" Eren poked him rather violently, causing Levi's head to loll on the side.

Eren started to panic because of his mate's unresponsiveness. Since Levi was not exactly awake to stop him, he took a sniff at him. Eren could not tell what was wrong with him by that alone but the smell of sweat made him touch the vampire's forehead. The skin under his hand was moist and warm.

As far as Eren remembered Levi's skin had felt cool the last time he had touched it. There was one possible conclusion he could draw. Levi seemed to have a fever and the most probable cause was the blood he had drank.

Eren had warned him. Why hadn't the vampire listened to him?

"Levi?" Eren tried again. "Can you hear me?"

The guard finally paid attention to what Eren was doing. "Ooh, did that crazy woman's miracle cure work? Is the vampire dead?"

Eren tried to wake Levi up. "Levi, please, say something," Eren said with a hushed whisper and finally the vampire groaned. Eren breathed a sigh of relief. Levi wasn't dead but he might be close to it.

"I better get that scientist over here to take a look at him," the guard said indifferently as he walked out of the door to their cell block.

"Levi!" Eren cupped the vampire's face with his hands. "Please, open your eyes," he pleaded as he brought his forehead against Levi's. "This is all my fault. You cannot die, not yet. We are so close of getting out of here," he rambled in quiet tone but his mate did not react to his words. Only silence on the vampire's part met his ears. "I told you not to drink. Why did you do that?" pain clenched around Eren's heart and he fought back the tears of panic.

Was there something he could do, anything to bring the vampire back to consciousness? Eren told himself to stay calm. He had to get a grip of his emotions. Crying was not going to help save Levi. Eren cursed under his breath and tried to only thing he could come up with. He loosened the cravat around Levi's neck, opened one button of his shirt and slipped his hand inside his shirt to reach the bite mark.

He rubbed it with his fingers adding pressure when at first it did nothing. Slowly he saw that Levi's eye lids flickered. Eren's own mark was burning so he was sure that what he was doing was working. "Come on, open your eyes, Levi," he whispered.

"Stop," the vampire whispered back to him.

"Levi!" Eren cried out and retreated his hand. "Please, tell me how to help you?"

The vampire opened his eyes, blinking lazily. Levi licked his lips and looked extremely tired. Eren held his feelings of panic at bay.

"Blood," Levi said but he had no energy to lean in for a bite.

"No!" Eren cried out. "I told you that you should not drink my blood when that god awful woman had tried her poisons on me but you did!" his tone was reprimanding. "Why did you do it anyway?" Eren wasn't able to held the panic from his voice anymore.

"I couldn't help it," the words were so faint that Eren got scared even more than he already was. It didn't matter now why Levi had drank the blood. Eren prayed that the vampire would pull through the fever. Besides fever was a positive thing, meaning that Levi's immune system was fighting against the vaccine. Things could be worse, a lot worse. Eren could be all alone by now if the vaccine had worked as intended on the first try.

"I'll protect you," Eren told him. "The guard went to get that evil woman here. I won't let them take you away," Eren said as the first sensations of the familiar type of prickling on his skin started. They would try to experiment on Levi for sure but if there was any chance that Eren could buy him some time to get better then he would do it. There was a small hope that if Levi's immune system won the fight... "Don't worry, they won't be able to touch you." Eren made sure Levi was sitting comfortably against the wall before he retreated away from him.

Eren knew that involuntary transformation was not much of fun to go through so instead of fighting the chance he went along with it willingly.

Levi watched how the young man slowly disappeared right before his eyes, turning into a wolf. Not only that but into a really really huge wolf. Had his mind been clear, Levi would have questioned how it was even possible for Eren to be so big in his wolf form.

Levi had no time to ponder such things when a wave of nausea washed over him. He fell to his side and he vomited violently onto the floor next to him. The floor was drenched in what must have been his last meal, Eren's blood, or what was left of it in his stomach. Levi's arms shook, not having the energy to keep him upright for long. He was about to slump down on the pool of his own mess when Eren grabbed hold of the back of his shirt and lifted him gently away from it.

Levi was hanging like a rag doll from Eren's teeth when the mad scientist entered the cell block.

"Eeeh! Is it eating the vampire?!" the woman exclaimed excitedly.

Levi was put down on the cold cell floor just as gently as he had been lifted. He sighed as he rolled on his back to look up to see his mate who was anything but human at that moment. Eren's eyes were yellow, feral look in them scared the vampire. What if Eren turned against him after all?

Eren's muzzle touched the side of his face, his breath was hot. Eren's tongue swept over his mouth, lapping away the traces of the vomit. Levi resisted, turning his head to the side as much as he could but there was no running from the wet tongue cleaning his face. He was feeling slightly better after vomiting out what remained of the blood that had caused this.

"Whaaaat? I am so disappointed," the woman said from outside the cell.

At that instant Eren turned his head towards her, crouched ready to attack while growling in low menacing way that meant certain death for anyone who would dare to come into the cell or near Levi.

"Interesting," the woman mused, pursing up her lips. "We need some tranquilizers for the dog. Go fetch them."

Eren bared his teeth fully, snarling such ferocity that Levi had a urge to calm him down. "Eren," he whispered. The wolf standing above him didn't look at him but stop growling for a moment. The situation did not look good, not at all. The bad guys were fetching tranquilizers and Levi needed blood. If they pumped any more of that vaccine stuff into either of them, their plan of escape was threatened, extremely so.

Levi didn't know how things were going to turn out. The woman was looking at him as if he was the grand price of some twisted competition that she needed to win no matter what. If they were going to hurt Eren... Levi's insides twisted at the thought of losing Eren in a meaningless fight such as this. "Eren," he said again this time louder and he reached a shaky hand to touch Eren's front leg.

The wolf looked down at him, worried if there was something wrong with his mate.

Levi tugged at the fur on his leg to get Eren to lean down closer. "If they want me, let them," he whispered to the wolf as quietly as he could so that the humans didn't hear his words. When Eren whimpered in protest Levi said, "Listen, they are going to shoot you and there is nothing we can do about it. I don't want you to hurt yourself unnecessarily." He hoped his words would have the desired effect on the wolf. Eren seemed to be able to understand him.

Levi searched the werewolf's eyes for any signs that it was actually Eren that he was talking to. But then he closed his eyes as he realized that he could feel Eren right there with him. He felt Eren's worry and fears, they were not as hazy as normally. Levi almost chuckled as the thought of calling them feral, more focused on one thing at a time. Levi also could feel that Eren was scared but there was enormous amount of strength hidden behind his anger towards the woman who was looking at them silently.

Levi was not afraid as long as he had Eren by his side.

But...

"Eren," he said quietly. "Stand down. Don't make them shoot you."

The werewolf looked at the woman responsible for Levi's state and then back at Levi. Eren stepped away from Levi with a heavy heart.

Levi took few deep breaths as he lay there on the floor. He had to get up, he had to make sure they would not shoot Eren. Levi had promised to protect Eren. Their bond was built upon that promise. Levi had to move before the men got back with their guns. He could feel Eren's perceive eyes on him as he struggled to get up. Levi fought back the urge to snap at the wolf that he was fine but he felt in his bones that he was not.

That damn woman had gotten something right in that vaccine of hers. If it was that only he would die and no one else would be harmed, he would not mind dying but if the woman perfected this awful substance of hers it would mean thousands of meaningless deaths, innocent ones too. Besides realistically thinking Levi could not stomach the idea that if he gave up now, they'd most probably kill Eren on the spot as well. Unless they had plans on capturing other vampires.

The idea of Eren left alone, with someone else who might not be as considerate towards him, made Levi sick in his stomach. The next vampire replacing him could be ruthless and kill Eren without paying any mind to it. Levi knew that these thoughts were fueled by the bond, there was nothing he could do about it. Levi understood what his uncle had meant when he warned him about breaking the promises he'd make to his mate.

The feeling urging him to protect was overwhelming and Levi could see that if he ignored it then nothing good would come out of it. How would he be able to live with himself if regret would tickle his thoughts?

Levi got up on shaky legs. He was sweaty and cold, feeling simply disgusting. His voice was rough when he spoke, addressing the woman beyond the bars, "I'll go willingly."

"Uuuh! Have you finally given up?" The woman's eyes gleamed. She looked too happy.

"Look at it how you will, I don't care." He could understand that she would think that way. He had been held captive for so long that it would not be surprising that he'd lose his will to live, right? Levi almost snorted at the thought because he had lost it, hadn't he? But then Eren had been locked in with him. Eren changed it all.

The mad woman looked amused. "Interesting," she said clucking her tongue.

Levi walked slowly towards her. He stopped before her. He didn't care what she thought was interesting. He needed them to leave Eren alone. He did not want to even imagine what they'd do to the young wolf. As soon as the thought entered his mind, all he saw was Eren's fur bloodied, his lifeless form, before his eyes. Levi felt a new wave of nausea hit him.

The men returned with the guns. Levi swallowed thickly as he saw them raised the barrels towards the wolf. Levi stepped in between the gun and Eren. "There is not need to subdue him."

One of the men with a gun gave the woman a hesitating and questioning look.

She smiled maliciously as she held Levi's gaze.

Levi waited for what felt like an eternity to hear what her decision was.

"Keep the guns ready but don't shoot unless the werewolf attacks," she finally said.

Levi sighed, hoping he would be coming back alive, giving Eren one last glance before he was dragged out of cell.

* * *

"I see you got friendly with the dear werewolf I gave to you as a present," the woman commented. "You know you are stupid for trying to protect him?"

She had witnessed everything that had transpired in the cell so there was no reason to deny it but still Levi glared at the woman who was responsible for all the pain he had gone through during his captivity. "Why would I do that?" He had been brought to her torture chamber once again. He knew the place well.

All too well.

He had let the goons of hers tie him up but this time Levi knew he would be able to break free any time he wanted. He would do it if she went too far. He would happily shred her into tiny little bits. Levi was seriously considering of doing that.

She only smiled at him. "Oh," she suddenly paused. She had touched Levi's shoulder and the vampire hadn't been able to keep a gasp of pain at bay. "What's this?" she asked as she noticed the wound under his shirt. "Did he bit you when you fed from him?"

Levi considered not answering her at all but the idea that she presented was too precious of a chance to miss. "Yes, he did." Levi was left to wonder why her touch hurt so much. She had only laid her hand over it and he had felt as she had pressed a hot iron against his skin.

The woman's mad cackle filled the room. "This is priceless! The werewolf is not as nice as you thought, now is he?" She giggled for a while but her smile turned smug soon. "So the mighty fall," she drawled. Her eyes held no sympathy. Her heart was cold as ice. "Let's take that blood sample. I want to know what exactly went wrong with my experiment."

She readied a needle, not being gentle with it when she plunged it into Levi's arm. "It's a shame that the werewolf did not eat you. I expected him to maul you at least." Disappointment colored her voice. "But he did bit you, though. That's nice." Her tone indicated that she really thought so too. "Maybe you'll feel more compelled to suck him dry now that he has sunk his little teeth in you." She was obviously having fun. When she had filled enough vials with Levi's blood she pulled the needled out and said, "Please, don't let my experiments go to waste."

"You can go to hell with your experiments." Levi swore that she would have no chance of having any further experiments on Eren. He knew he could stomach the sickness he was enduring if it meant that they could escape faster. He did not want to give the crazy woman a chance at perfecting her vaccine. Levi knew he and Eren had probably a few days before she would have another version ready. They needed to break free as soon as possible.

"You and me both, darling. You and all of your filthy kind will one day fall into the depths of hell. I'll make sure of it," her words carried years of malice.

"You know, not every vampire is a killer," Levi said. Maybe he had ran out of ideas or sanity to try to talk her out of this. It was useless he knew. For five months they had tortured him, for five months they had left him starve. Driven almost mad by the hunger Levi had eaten all the rats that dared to come near his cell. Now none of the rats came anywhere near it.

The woman cackled at his words. "You have sunk so low that you think talking to me will help?"

"Listen, I have no idea what has happened to you and what has made you like this and truth to be told I don't even care but you are threatening me and my people for some petty vengeance."

"Petty?!" The woman shrieked. "You call witnessing my own children getting murdered by your kind a petty vengeance?!" She was breathing heavily out of anger. "I will murder every single one of you!" she shouted completely out of her mind.

Levi looked at her calmly, calculating if he should take the risk and kill her right now. There was only her, two guards outside and them some patrolling out in the corridors and last but not least his own personal guard outside his cell. He knew the guards had silver bullets in their guns. He should be able to avoid those if he was fast enough and didn't hesitate. Plus, he had seen the fear in the guards' eyes whenever they saw him. They wouldn't have the resolve to shoot him on sight.

The one with the keys was the man outside his cell. The same man that was guarding Eren at the moment. Would I be a good idea to unleash a werewolf among these guys? Levi had to admit he didn't know if the rumors, that a werewolf's bite turned a human into one, were true.

There was one plus side to this whole thing. He would have more than enough blood to feed on. He felt that this was his 'now or never' type of chance. He was being held in place by chains that didn't look that tough. The shackles around his wrists would be another matter but that he could solve after he was free and back at home.

Levi couldn't see any faults in his plan other than he had no idea how to get out of the damn building. He had no idea where he was but he didn't think it was a problem, not really. Not when he had a werewolf by his side.

"You shouldn't have given Eren to me," Levi said and with a smirk grazing his lips, Levi yanked at the chains breaking himself free.

The last thing the woman had time to say was, "What-" before Levi broke her neck.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN**: Okay I need to warn you guys for graphic violence. So, if you feel squishy about such things, this chapter might not be your piece of cheese cake then.

But other than that! An early update so enjoy! I have no clue when the next chapter is going to be out other than very vague: some time next week.

* * *

_**Chapter 6**_

* * *

Blood dripped down the lifeless woman's neck. Levi had sank his teeth into her neck as soon as her neck was broken. He swallowed the blood left in his mouth and licked his lips a satisfied smile on his face. She was finally dead. She wouldn't be able to hurt him or Eren ever again.

He let her body fall down to the floor. Without looking he stepped over it, heading for the door. There should be two guards outside waiting for her orders to come and fetch him.

Orders that would never come.

Levi walked calmly to the door, he was feeling so much better now that he drank the blood that was not tainted. Even though her blood had not been anywhere as delicious as Eren's but it would have to do. He would kill every single one of these people and drink until he was satisfied.

He reached the door. He listened carefully, being able to pick up the faint voices of the two men conversing right outside. Levi would have to be fast if he wished to kill the two before they could react.

What would be the best way to do this? Open the door and let them in or should he just barge out? Levi had no hurry, no one had noticed anything amiss yet. He could take his time and thus he glanced at the body lying on the floor. Maybe there would be one more thing that woman could do for him even after death.

He made his way back over to her, grabbing hold of her and dragging her to the door. She weighed almost nothing in his hands. Levi felt an immense amount of sadistic pleasure. This was personal. It had become personal the moment they had started their torture on him. Even more so now that they had used Eren against him. He wouldn't forgive them. These people didn't need his pity as they had none to offer him.

"So the mighty fall," he quoted her words. She had fallen alright. She had thought she was mighty too. Levi couldn't keep the smirk off his lips as he stopped by the door. Lifting the woman's body upright, he steadied her.

Everything depended on how things would go once he opened the door.

Listening one more time for any sounds that would indicate anything out of the ordinary, he grabbed the door handle, wrenching the door open, the lock popping out of its socket. He had a split second to locate the guards on either side of the door. He pushed the body into one of the guard's arms, catching him completely off guard and unable to do anything while Levi attacked the other guard.

Maybe this was his lucky day because the men hadn't even gotten their guns ready. They clearly had not expected him to be free like this.

Quickly snapping the guard's neck, he moved to the other one who had finally realized what was happening. The man shrieked as he noticed that the woman was dead and he had a few seconds to look up to see Levi moving towards him.

Levi's hand closed around his throat, squeezing it tightly. "How do you want to die?" he asked from the guard who was gasping for breath. "Guess it doesn't matter, does it?" Levi said, sinking his claws into the man's throat, choking him.

The smell of blood made Levi lick his lips. Just before the man drew his last breath, Levi pulled him close and sank his fangs into his neck. He savoured the blood with the knowledge that he didn't need to hold back. He didn't need to worry if he was feeding too much.

His mind returned to Eren. It was too bad there would be nothing for him to bring for Eren to eat. He would have loved to present a feast to his mate. The grandest one he could ever give him. Something told him that Eren might not be pleased with it, though.

Putting that disappointing thought aside, Levi let the man's body fall to the ground. Just in case, Levi took one of their guns with him. There might come a time when it would become useful. Bullets would kill anyone, silver or not.

Levi made his way through the corridors that he had seen while he had been dragged to the other part of the dungeon. He wondered how big the whole complex really was if he had trouble remembering what turns to take. So far he had not run into anyone.

Until...

He heard footsteps.

He heard talking.

That meant there was more than one person coming on his way. He had nowhere to hide, he was closer to the end of the corridor where the noises came from than the way he had come from.

He needed to make a quick decision which ended up with him rushing towards the sounds. He pressed himself flat against the wall at the corner.

"Hahaha! You know she's not going to say no next time," said one of the men coming Levi's way. They were chatting without a care in the world while Levi waited them to be closer. He would have to be quick once again. He dearly hoped there was no one else than these... three?, he counted judging by the sounds of boots against the stone floor.

Gripping the gun with his both hands, he waited. He hoped the men were walking side by side or else he might have a complication or two.

The footsteps were getting closer and closer.

Their chatter was coming from just around the corner.

Levi counted seconds until he'd had to move, until he'd make his strike.

Levi saw the men rounding the corner, none of them noticed him until it was too late.

"You say so but-" the man was cut off when the back end of the rifle smashed into his face. Levi did not stay to wait or check how that worked out for him, he had already let go of the gun. The dumbfounded looks on the guards' faces were their last ones. Levi pushed one of the guard's head against the wall with all his might and the man fell unconscious. The third one had a knee smashing into his groin and neck snapped.

Levi ignored the unconscious one and went for the first one he had taken down. The man's face was covered in blood and Levi chuckled. Yanking the man up from the floor, he marveled at the work well done.

Levi proceeded on feeding off the two men when they were still alive. His thirst didn't quench. No matter how much he drank his mind kept drifting to Eren. It pained him that he would not be able to drink Eren's blood until his blood was purged of the toxic vaccine in it.

On the other hand, one thing was certain. He was getting stronger with each gulp that he took and his body buzzed happily with all the blood he was getting but his heart was not. He needed to get back to Eren. He tried to tell himself rationally that Eren was fine. The werewolf was probably snoozing in the corner of the cell. Whatever he tried to tell himself did not stop the urge to get back to Eren as fast as possible. He cursed the bond that made him feel this way.

Grunting in displeasure he pushed the body of the man he had just fed from, to the ground. He grabbed the gun and left the bodies of the three men after him. No one so far had heard anything, no one had paid any mind to the shrieks and sounds. Levi was almost certain it was thanks to the screams that their victims let out. No one was going to check if a scream or two came from the right person. Not for a one second did Levi think that he and Eren were the only ones that had ever been brought here.

Levi did not know who these people were and he did not care at this moment. He only wanted to be free.

He _needed_ to get back to Eren.

He stalked the halls, moving as quietly as he could because he was getting close. He passed by, what appeared to be a mess hall, in complete silence. No one looked up from their meals, no one paid any attention to him. He paused just outside of it, considering of massacring every single of those men that sat there with their happy faces, with their happy stories about outside life they got to live.

But he did not.

He continued on his way because Eren's innocent face came to his mind. Eren was young and had not lived through the times of war and devastation. Eren had not lived through the horrors of witnessing his own family die because of fear of the ignorant humans. Levi didn't need to kill these men to protect Eren. He would kill everyone who came between that goal and their freedom.

The chattering of the men in the mess hall drowned other sounds and Levi was suddenly face to face with two men. Why did these guys have to work in pairs? This time Levi was not so lucky to silence them in time. He had the time to attack the other one but the other man had time to shout.

"THE VAMPIRE IS LOOSE!"

There were three things that happened after that. Levi killed the man he had attacked first and moved on to the next one before he could aim properly with his gun. Levi did not care what kind of sounds his victims let out anymore since it didn't matter if they screamed as much as their little throats allowed. With a satisfying shriek from the man, Levi bit into his neck, drawing some of his blood. When the man's shrieks turned into moans Levi simply snapped his neck as well. He did not want to hear those sounds from anyone but Eren.

The third thing that happened was that the men from the mess hall piled into the corridor guns ready. Some of them were brave enough to come straight at him. They honestly thought they could subdue him just with brute force. Levi fought off each of the men who tried. He tried to keep an eye on the men with the guns, he tried his best not to be in a clear line of sight with their guns, shielding himself with the torsos of his attackers.

"SHOOT HIM!" bellowed a voice from one of the men at the mess hall doorway.

Levi held the last person that he had fought in front of himself. The man was still alive. "Beg for your life and I might let you go," Levi whispered into the man's ear.

"Guys, wait don't shoot!" the man cried out.

"What are you saying?! We need to bring him down! Those are our orders!"

Levi took this chance to count the men. There were six of them, five with guns. If he wanted to take them down, he'd need to dash into them and hope that it would catch them off guard.

"I don't want to die!" the man in Levi's arms cried. "Please, don't kill me," he directed his words to Levi this time with a quieter tone.

"Now you understand how I've felt this whole time," Levi whispered to the man.

"Aim well!" the man obviously in charge shouted.

"No!"

Levi tightened his hold that he had of the man. The man was shaking, truly scared to be at the gunpoint.

"You know they are going to shoot me through you. You are going to die either way," Levi told him.

"No, no, no," the man babbled devastated.

Levi took his chances. Before the order to shoot came, Levi lunged forward, pushing the man he held hostage into the herd of six men. He dashed as fast as he could, he knew that the men would not be able to follow his movements for a second or two and that was enough.

Levi did not waste time, snapping the neck of the first guy on the left. Second one received a kick to the back of his knee and head smashed against the floor. The third guy was already turning towards him to check what was going on his right but Levi was faster. His fist met the man's face, breaking his nose. The man fell down, clutching his nose and groaning in pain.

Levi let him be for the moment as he came face to face with a gun barrel. Quickly dodging downwards, kicking the legs out from under the man, Levi gripped the gun barrel and hurled the back of it into the face of man number five who stood behind the man now falling on his ass. Levi straightened himself up and locked eyes with one of the last two men who held no firearms.

Levi saw the leader of the group visibly gulp, Levi's previous hostage did not look any better, pale as snow.

Hearing the groans coming from behind him, Levi knew he had no time to waste. Soon there would be a bullet in his back if he did not hurry.

Levi decided to first take care of the man who had just fallen down because that said man was reaching for any spare gun he could find at the moment. The man received a kick to his face, that disoriented him enough to give Levi time to break his neck. "So fragile," he mused to himself and saw the two men he had left alone, scoot away from him. They were going to escape and Levi could not have that.

He took a gun from the floor, watching as the men tried to hurry away, their legs not carrying them because of the crippling fear.

Levi took aim and shot the man who had given orders in the shoulder. That slowed him down. The man clutched his injured shoulder, crying out with tears falling down his face.

The second man watched in horror. "Please don't, please I beg of you, please don't."

"You better run if you don't want to die," Levi said and lowered his gun. "If I ever see you again, I'll kill you."

"Understood," the man said with a shaky voice and scrambled to his feet, rushing out of the bloody scene.

Levi hoped he did understand and did not cause any more trouble, say, calling more guards or such. He had a feeling that the man would run without looking back. He had seemed that much of a coward after all.

But with that done, Levi was left with two guys with broken noses, one unconscious man that he did not need to worry about and then there was the leader who was crying with a bloodied shoulder.

Levi took a step towards one of the men who had their faces redone slightly. "I'd like to play more than this but I am in a bit of a hurry," Levi said to the man before gripping his head and twisting it, killing the poor guy. He heard the other guy with a broken nose move. That man made the same mistake of reaching for a gun. Levi stepped on his arm. It broke under the sudden harsh pressure. The man screamed.

"That's the spirit," Levi said, licking his lips. "I'll have a taste of you if you don't mind." He yanked the man's head back, sinking his fangs into his neck. After a gulp, he let the man go. "You taste like shit." Levi wasted no time snapping the guy's neck.

Levi looked down at the man who was lying on the floor unconscious, there was a blood of blood on the floor where he had hit his head. Since everyone else was either dead or crying like a baby Levi saw his chance of having a good meal. Just in case he listened to any sounds coming their way but his ears met complete silence if he did not count the faint heart beats he heard.

"Such a pity for you to die this way," Levi said, almost cradling the unconscious man in his arms. The man was a handsome one. If the man had been conscious and Levi had not been mated, he might have enjoyed playing with him in some other ways as well. Such a waste indeed, he thought as he sank his teeth into the guy's neck. At least his blood tasted better than the previous one's.

Keeping his eyes on the man still crying a few paces away, Levi drank savouring the taste of warm blood flowing down his throat. He heard the man in his arms moan. He told himself to just pretend it was Eren. He needed this blood to survive through the period of time that he would not be able to feed from Eren.

He kept on feeding until the noises coming from the unconscious man turned pained. Levi knew that he was close to death, his body reacting to the blood loss. Levi intended on drinking as much blood as it was necessary for the man to die from it. He'd grace this man with the pleasure of dying from blood loss. Levi did not want to break that beautiful neck of his.

"Last but not least," Levi said as he got up from the floor, taking the few steps needed to reach the man with a gun wound. The man had been reaching for a gun, finding some courage in his little heart. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Levi said.

"You are going to kill me either way," the man said out of spite.

"Yes, I am. But I might have spared your life if you had begged like the other one did."

"As if," the man snarled.

"You'll never know, will you?" Levi took the gun that the man was reaching for. Taking a step back, he aimed the gun at the man once again. "Any last words?"

"Go to hell," the man spat.

"Gladly," Levi replied and pulled the trigger, shooting the man in the head. "Sleep well," Levi said and made his way towards the cell block area where he knew Eren was waiting for him. He was not that far away any more. Few more turns and he'd be together with his mate once again.

Only one left standing between him and Eren was the guard outside their cell. Levi could not be sure if there were any more people in the complex but none had come yet so he assumed that there wasn't that many left.

Levi knew that the guard must have heard the gunshots and the screams. He could not take a risk of getting shot right off the bat when he'd enter the cell block because he was sure that lazy ass bum guard was waiting for him.

Levi stopped right outside the door that lead to the area that the cell was. He listened but heard nothing. There was a small latch on the door that he could have peered through but it opened only on the inside.

This would be the most dangerous part of the escape so far. There was a long corridor leading from the door to the cell. The guard had visibility the whole way, there was no corners to hide behind. Levi could not be sure if the guard had a gun or not, he could not be sure if the guard was alone or if he had gone to get a gun hearing all the noises. Levi could not leave anything to chance.

Freedom was so close that he could taste it. He had seen a staircase on his way here and that was his best bet that would lead to some sort of exit. He only needed to get Eren out of here.

Levi decided to test out what was true and what wasn't. He opened the door, staying behind it the whole time.

Then he waited.

A silence followed for a minute.

"Come out of hiding. I know you are there," the guard's voice came somewhere near the cell.

Levi smiled. What should he say that would not give away his fear of failing? If only he knew if there was a gun pointing at the door. "Why won't you give me the keys and I'll let you live?" Levi suggested. There was no way he'd let the man live, though.

"Hah! Nice try blood sucker. Although I need to ask, why are you here? You could have escaped all by yourself," the man pointed out.

Levi had no answer, not a one that he could give the man. He would not tell him the truth but he had no good lie available either. "Let's just say that the werewolf will do nicely aiding my escape."

"Ooh, I bet there is more than that. I saw the way he was concerned about you. I saw you two cuddling each other. Should have known that nasty creatures like you love to nest together."

There had to be a way to check if the man had a gun or not.

"Don't worry, I called some reinforcements. They are on their way and your days are numbered," the guard boasted. "But first, I want to test out how much you need the werewolf. What would you say if I shoot him?"

Levi heard the man shuffle his feet and a clank against the bars. Levi eyes widened and he was about to rush to see what was going on when Eren snarled loudly. The way Eren snarled made Levi stay hidden. A loud bang went off and Levi realized that the man had pointed the gun towards him and not Eren. If the werewolf had not made the sound, Levi would be the one dead.

"You stupid mongrel! I would have had him had you not interfered. He'd be dead and I could have my break for fuck's sake."

Levi took a quick look at the man while he spoke. He saw the guard staring at Eren while spitting his words out. The guard was preoccupied with talking to Eren. Levi took that chance, moving as fast and quietly as he could.

The guard did not notice and continued his commentary, "But seems I was right. What is this mongrel to you anyway, blood sucker?"

"Just a way to distract you," Levi whispered into his ear.

The look on the man's face was priceless. His eyes looked ready to bulge out of their sockets and his mouth hung open.

Levi's hand closed around his throat. He kicked the man's legs from under him, bringing him down on the floor. The gun flew from the man's hands and clattered against the stone floor. The man tried to pry Levi's hand off but in vain.

"With great pleasure I will kill you. I've been forced to endure your company for the past five months. Your degrading comments, looks and you rattling your little keys in front of me. I've waited to kill you slowly and as painfully as I can," Levi said with much of hateful passion. He was boiling inside as he just looked at the man who had been his guard for so long.

"Where should I begin? Your legs? Or would you like me to snap your arms off just like little kids do with little ants. Tear away your eyes and feed them to you. Would that sound nice?" Levi ran his finger down the dirty cheek of the dirty man. "You might call me a blood sucker but you won't have the honor of experiencing that. Your blood revolts me," Levi spat on the man's face.

Eren whimpered from the cell. Levi didn't spare him a glance, not now when he had other things to attend to.

The guard gasped for his breath as Levi loosened his hold. "So tell me which is it?" Levi asked.

"Go fuck yourself!" the guard spat.

"Is that all you want to say?"

The guard glared at him, not saying a word.

"I see," Levi stated and tightened his hold on the guard's throat again. He squeezed hard, the guard's struggle to break free became erratic. Levi wanted him to drown in his own blood, he wanted him to suffocate to death.

Suddenly Levi let him go, the man spluttered. Levi smirked enjoying seeing him in pain as he was sure the man was feeling that. Levi got up, yanking the man upwards by his arm as well. He kneed him hard in the face. He broke his arm. Levi enjoyed the sounds the man made under his care. The blood thrilling way he moaned and screamed in pain.

Levi kicked him in the face one more time and let him fall on the ground. "You are weak, human," Levi said with satisfaction coloring his tone. Levi grabbed hold of one of the man's legs and twisted it unnaturally, hearing it pop. "Scream, scream you maggot," Levi chanted and kicked him. "How does it feel, huh?" he asked as he knew very well the way they had burned his skin, the way they had broken his bones to see how fast he healed.

The guard was lying on the floor, curled up, trying to protect his vital organs from Levi's kicks. Levi paused to look at him. The smell of his blood was disgusting but it drove Levi on. "Open up," Levi said to the man, grabbing hold of his head and reaching for his mouth. "Come on, old man, this will end sooner you open your filthy mouth," Levi coerced the man, trying to stick his fingers into his mouth.

"That's right," Levi said, faking a soothing tone. "Open up like a good boy." He was smirking sadistically and finally he got his fingers inside the slick cavern. He was not worried about getting bitten, the man would not have much time for that. Despite being completely disgusting thing to do, Levi grabbed hold of the man's tongue and sank his claws into it.

Then he tugged.

Blood spilled from the man's mouth as he tongue couldn't take the treatment. Levi withdrew his fingers quickly before the man could bite him. Oh, the wails of agony were music to Levi's ears. Now he was sure the man would choke on his own blood. Well, he would be if the man was not lying on his side. Levi pushed him on his back, trapping his head in place. He covered the man's mouth with his hand.

"I'll see you in hell," Levi whispered to him.

The man tried to claw at his hand on the mouth with his only healthy arm. Levi listened to the choking sounds the man made as his throat filled with blood and interfered with his breathing.

Levi watched silently as the man suffocated to death.

"Utterly disgusting but worth it," Levi said as he got up and dusted his pants off even though it was useless, the pair was dirtier than he ever wanted to admit. He wanted to get some fresh clothes as soon as possible.

Levi took the keys from the man's belt, jiggling them in his hands. He looked at Eren who had not moved any closer to the cell door. "Did you think I'd leave you here?" Levi asked from the werewolf as he inserted the key into the lock. When the wolf didn't move Levi paused. "Eren?" he asked. The wolf stared at him with his glowing yellow eyes.

Beautiful yellow eyes.

But so deadly at the same time.

"Eren," he said. "We need to get going or we will get caught. I am not willing to stay here any longer. Come." Levi opened the cell door, waiting for the big, hopefully not bad, wolf to come out.

Levi could not deny the fear that stuck his heart as the wolf stalked slowly towards him, with its head bowed and eyes glowing eerily. "Eren?" he asked uncertainly but he refused to take a step backwards.

Levi fingers gripped the iron bar of the door tighter when Eren bared his fangs at him and a low growl was heard.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: **We have to go a bit back in time here, revealing Eren's side of the story.

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_**Chapter 7**_

* * *

Eren had tough time staying still when they took Levi away. He wanted to rush after his mate, he wanted to save him but the men with their guns and Levi's willingness to go with them were the two things that held him back.

Eren had no choice but to wait. Still, that did not lessen the worry he had for the vampire. What if the mad woman ended up killing Levi? What was he supposed to do then? The dread was set deep in the pit of his stomach.

The future looked bleak if that was to happen. It did not help that there was growing anger inside Eren. He had hard time controlling his feelings when the full moon was up in the sky. Needless to say, he was very unhappy with the current situation. His mate had been taken away right in front of his nose and there had been nothing he could have done about it.

In the last few days Eren had grown accustomed to feeling Levi's presence near him and getting bits and piece of his mood transferred to himself but now there was utter silence, numbness that surrounded him. Uneasiness settled around his bones. Levi was too far away from him, that was how he felt and he could not stop thinking how he wanted to be reunited with Levi.

Being in the same room would be enough. To smell his scent would be enough. Which gave him an idea. Eren went to the area that Levi usually sat at and found his cloak there on the floor. Eren dragged it more to the center of the cell and settled down on it and crossed his paws. He buried his nose into the folds of the cloak and sighed. All he could do was wait.

Occasionally glaring at the guard, Eren tried to distract himself with thoughts of his friends. Oh, how he wanted to run free with Armin and Mikasa in the woods. That would have been what he would have been doing right now if he hadn't been captured. He missed them. If only they would be getting out of here soon...

Eren let his mind drift but his ears picked up a sound he did not want to hear.

A scream.

Eren lifted his head, listening carefully for any further sounds. He dearly hoped that had not come from Levi. Who else could it be? Eren tried to stay calm. It had been a faint one and it could have been anyone. Maybe his ears had heard wrong?

Eren lowered his head back down on top of his paws when he heard nothing else. A while later he heard another scream, then another. The sounds were getting closer. Eren stole a glance at the guard to see if he had noticed the sounds coming from somewhere.

One thing was sure, it was not Levi.

Then he heard the booming voice shouting, _"THE VAMPIRE IS LOOSE!"_

That was pretty close, Eren thought and a spark of hope was ignited in his heart. That shout could only mean that Levi was free.

The guard cursed under his breath and rushed out of the cell block. Eren rose to his feet and walked to the cell bars, listening carefully, ears perked upon his head. He heard commotion and more screams.

"_SHOOT HIM!"_

Eren couldn't help but move a little as he wanted to dash to save Levi. They were going to shoot him!

He stayed completely still as he listened to the sounds of commotion bounce on the stone walls.

"_Aim well!" _

Eren ears were perched up to catch the moment when a gun would go off. He prayed to the deities that Levi would survive.

Why are they not shooting?

Then there was a gunshot.

Blood in his veins froze.

Had Levi been shot?

The guard came back with a gun in his hands, closed the door, walking to the other end of the corridor and looking ready to shoot anything that came through the door.

Eren took a few steps back. The guard seemed not to be paying attention to him at all. Eren returned to the spot where the cloak was. If the worst had happened, this would be the only thing he'd have left of his mate.

Eren was restless. What was going on out there? He heard cries of someone who was not Levi. Eren believed to know something about the vampire's character to assume that he would not be crying like that even if he was hurt. Maybe someone else had been shot? The silence besides the crying was tormenting.

Eren hated waiting. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears as the seconds ticked by.

Then there was another gunshot.

Eren gulped. Complete silence followed that shot. Until...

There was faint footsteps coming closer to the door of the cell block. Eren doubted that the guard could hear them.

The door opened but no one came in.

"Come out of hiding. I know you are there," the guard's suddenly spoke out, pointing the gun determinedly towards the doorway.

"Why won't you give me the keys and I'll let you live?" Levi voice came out from the corridor beyond the door. He sounded fine, he sounded well. Eren's heart skipped a beat. Levi had come for him!

"Hah! Nice try blood sucker. Although I need to ask, why are you here? You could have escaped all by yourself."

The man was right but Eren knew deep down that Levi would not be able to leave him if he was feeling anything that Eren had felt himself while they had been apart. As far as Eren knew, new mates would not be apart willingly for long, the bond being too raw to handle the separation.

"Let's just say that the werewolf will do nicely aiding my escape."

"Ooh, I bet there is more than that. I saw the way he was concerned about you. I saw you two cuddling each other. Should have known that nasty creatures like you love to nest together."

Eren looked at the guard. He would have blushed if he had been in his human form. Being found out had been the thing they tried to avoid and here the guard was saying that he knew all along.

"Don't worry, I called some reinforcements. They are on their way and your days are numbered," the guard boasted. "But first, I want to test out how much you need the werewolf. What would you say if I shoot him?"

Eren took a step back when he heard the guard's words. But the man simply clanked the barrel of the gun against the bars and kept it pointed towards the door.

Eren had to do something. He cried out to Levi not to come out, hoping the vampire understood what his cry meant.

Luckily for him the vampire listened but the gun still went off.

"You stupid mongrel! I would have had him had you not interfered. He'd be dead and I could have my break for fuck's sake," The guard pointed his hateful words towards him, looking angry.

Eren returned the heated gaze of the man back in ten fold. The man had almost shot his mate!

Eren kept his eyes on the man when he heard the quiet shuffle of Levi's feet. He didn't catch the movement either but as long as he could distract the man...

"But seems I was right. What is this mongrel to you anyway, blood sucker?" The guard said with a smug look on his face, turning to look at the doorway again.

"Just a way to distract you," Levi's soft voice said.

Eren rested his eyes on his face. Levi didn't look like he was in pain or anything of the sort.

But what Eren witnessed next was shocking. He had expected Levi to simply snap the guards neck or something such as that nature but right in front of his eyes Levi tortured the man. The vampire did not save any words or methods to make the man pay for his actions.

It was cruel.

There was no remorse on Levi's face. On the contrary, the vampire looked too pleased in himself.

Levi is enjoying this, Eren thought as he fought back the feeling of nausea.

Despite his hate towards the people that had captured him, he could not prevent the horror creeping itself into his bones. He was seeing exactly what Levi was capable of and it scared him.

"Utterly disgusting but worth it."

That was the last straw for Eren. The nonchalant way that Levi said it was terrifying.

Instead of showing his fear, Eren took the offensive. He took a menacing stance and growled at his mate who was opening the cell door. Eren heard his mate calling his name but he decided to ignore his pleas.

Eren's blood was sizzling with anger. How had he let this person mate with him? Did the vampire have a heart? Eren did not know who he was more angry at, himself or Levi?

But then he saw the act of submission. Levi averted his eyes as Eren got closer.

Levi could not look into those beautiful eyes full of anger. How was it possible that the young wolf made him feel ashamed of what he had done when just a minute ago he had been so full of satisfaction?

Eren stalked closer, letting out another growl, staring right at Levi who refused to meet his eyes. Eren wanted to ask why had Levi gone so far? Why couldn't he just kill the man quickly? Eren hated mindless killing. He hated killing in general unless it was necessary. It had been indeed necessary to kill the man but in such gruesome way?

Levi stayed completely still.

Eren was just an arms length away from him.

The menacing stance had not faltered. Had the young wolf lost his mind? There were questions circulating inside Levi's head. What if this was it and Eren had lost his sanity? Levi felt his heart squeeze uncomfortably inside his chest.

"I have been here for a long time, Eren," Levi stated calmly. He hoped the young wolf would understand his reasons for torturing the guard before killing him. What else was there to say? Was he supposed to justify his actions to someone who had not endured the same pain that he had?

The heaviness of Levi's words reached Eren's ears and heart. Eren realized that Levi had indeed endured much more than he had in the hands of these people. Finally Levi looked at him and the seriousness of Levi's words was reflected in his eyes.

The anger disappeared, slowly ebbing away. It was not an easy feat for Eren to control his feelings. Eren relaxed his stance, taking the last few steps towards his mate and pressed his muzzle against Levi's chest.

The vampire seemed surprised by it and unsure what to do.

Eren flipped out his tongue quickly.

That dissolved the tension as Levi spluttered, "Oh god, gross. Don't ever do that again." The vampire raised his hand to touch Eren's head but lowered it back when he realized that it was covered in dried blood. "Disgusting," Levi scoffed.

Eren was still looking at him, nuzzling against his chest. Eren felt so much better now that Levi was back. He wanted to tell him how worried he had been all this time.

"What are you looking at?" Levi asked. "Why do I even ask? We have to go. We don't have time for this."

Eren took a step forward as he pressed his forehead against Levi's chest, catching the vampire off guard again.

"Eren," Levi said softly, fighting back a sigh. He was not good at these displays of affection type of things. Despite his hands being dirty he decided to touch the wolf anyway. He raised his hands to rub the back of Eren's ears. "Come on," he continued with the same tone. "We need to go."

Eren whined when Levi stepped back away from him.

"You can lick my face all you want when we are free," Levi told him. "Stay quiet and close to me. There might still be people upstairs."

Levi took the guard's gun with him.

They made their way to the staircase that Levi had seen. Levi grimaced as they passed the corridor where he had fought with the men. He did not want Eren to see the blood or the bodies but there was nothing he could do about it now.

Eren slowed down his pace, looking at the horrifying scene before his eyes.

Levi didn't need the bond to tell him that Eren was unsettled by what he had done. "This is what I am," Levi said quietly. "But the last time I killed people like this was over a hundred years ago." Why was he explaining himself to Eren? Why did it feel important to say it?

Pushing those questions out of his mind, Levi went on to the staircase. He beckoned Eren over and spoke to him quietly. "I'm going to take a peek. Wait until I say it is safe." Levi hoped that Eren understood how important it was that he stayed hidden.

Levi ascended the stairs carefully which curved a half circle upwards. Soon he reached the top of the stairs. As a precaution Levi laid down against the stairs to carefully look around from the mouse perspective. He heard nothing and saw no one. There was a corridors with doors to each direction. Slowly he got up and took a step into the corridor.

Nothing.

The silence was eerie. It didn't bode well.

It was too good to be true. It meant that they could not relax just yet.

But which way to go? Left or right?

Choosing right Levi stalked forward carefully. He did not let his guard down, listening to any small noises that could be significant. He peeked around the corner and saw a window at the end of the corridor, right next to a door. The moonlight illuminated the scenery outside. Levi could see a tree line in the distance. If he made a quick estimate, then from the door to the woods it was probably fifty meters.

They would only need to get to the trees and they would have more cover than they could ask for. Levi returned to the top of the stairs and called out for Eren. The werewolf came the stairs up with some difficulty, obviously not used to climbing such thing when transformed.

Levi led him to the end of the corridor, halting their movements before they rounded the corner to the seemingly too good to be true salvation.

"Before we go. I want you to be cautious until we are a safe distance away from here. There could be anyone out there so be ready to run as fast as you can. Don't wait for me. Don't look back, just run," Levi ordered him calmly. "I'll take care of anyone who gets in our way."

Eren was not happy with this plan. How could he possibly leave Levi behind if something went wrong?

"Don't worry," Levi said as he could feel the worry practically radiate from the werewolf. "I've been in worse situations than this." What he said was true but he hoped Eren would not ask about it later.

Levi once again stalked towards the door, peering carefully out of the window as he went. He didn't see anyone. "They probably heard the gunshots. There could be someone hiding somewhere. Once I'm outside, you run towards those trees out there. I'll be right behind you," Levi said as reassuringly as he could.

As soon as Levi opened the door, a man appeared at the doorway, pointing a gun towards them. Levi was not phased by this. "Idiot," he said as he disarmed the man quickly, elbowing him in the head in the process. The man fell down unconscious.

"Let's go." Levi stepped over the man and made his way outside. The man seemed to have been alone. There was only open ground between them and the woods. "Run!" he ushered the young wolf.

There was no rain of bullets or any other guards trying to stop them. Levi watched Eren dash across the ground as fast as he could. He could only marvel at the beauty of such a big beast running. Levi ran after him but not without taking a look back. He realized that they had come across some sort of back entrance, probably an old servant entrance to the building that stood tall, looming over the landscape. His uncle would have loved to own such a place but Levi put that thought away as he followed Eren into the woods.

In a few hours the sky would start getting lighter in color. Levi did not know where they were at this very moment as he ran, but he'd worry about it when they were certain that they were not being followed. He heard the wolf paw his way through the woods but he didn't see him anymore. He did not worry since he was sure Eren would find him even if they got separated. If he knew anything about canines, it would their ability to sniff things out.

Levi had not told Eren to stop and after a minute or two Levi could not hear him anymore. Levi relaxed into a light jog. The forest was not dense anymore but even so there was no sign of Eren. Was the wolf still running? Levi hoped not.

He chuckled to himself as he realized that there was really no way for Eren to run that far away.

The ache was there.

It had been worse just a minute ago and now it was getting better.

It meant that Eren was coming back and the distance between them was getting shorter.

Before he heard Eren, he saw him. The wolf was coming back cautiously stopping to look around, moving with precise and silent movements.

"I knew you'd come back," Levi stated as soon as Eren was within earshot. "We need to get somewhere safe before the sun rises." Levi had a small concern of not finding a hiding spot from the rays of light that could kill him. Maybe now would be a great time to figure out which part of the country they were. Levi looked at the signs available for him. He knew that the time was probably around three or four in the morning, the moon was setting. The darkest point of the night had already passed. Th sun would be rising in few hours. Levi had no way of knowing which way the sun was going to rise while they were in the woods.

So he decided to do the next best thing. He talked to Eren, "I need you to stay awake and mark the direction the sun rises from, okay?"

The wolf nodded as they walked on. From time to time Levi looked back and saw nothing. The building had long since disappeared from their sights and only from a higher ground they could probably see it. Seeing nothing also meant that they were not being followed.

"We have two hours before the sun rises," Levi said as he went through the options in his head. "We need to spend the day in these woods. It is highly unlikely that we run into any village or house for that matter. As far as I know, that place was well hidden." Levi remembered the long trip he had endured when he had been captured. He couldn't remember hearing any additional voices than the ones who had captured him. He had been shielded from the sun and thus had not seen the route.

If only they could find higher ground...

"Eren, could you do some scouting and try to find a hill or something that would tell us where we are? Or if you see a house or town, anything worth while, come back. I'll keep heading towards the direction we are now going." There was no other option.

Eren nudged Levi's arm and when the vampire turned to look at him, he jumped a little to lick Levi's cheek quickly.

"Ugh!" Levi had not thought that Eren would remember his promise about the licking. He had not really meant it but he could certainly trust Eren to think so.

Eren let out a noise that made Levi wonder, did the werewolf just snort? But before he could had a chance to comment the werewolf took off. Levi watched him go, knowing that Eren wouldn't be far away.

Eren was gone for over an hour. During that time the wolf had time to think. Eren circled around Levi, keeping the maximum distance that the bond permitted. Eren needed that distance right now. Vivid images of bloodied corpses and the stench of blood in the air were still fresh on his mind.

"_This is what I am."_

Despite the small regret of mating Levi, Eren couldn't deny the fact that Levi had set them free. Levi had done so by risking his life.

But Eren knew that if they had not been bonded, mated, Levi would have left him there to rot. Eren highly doubted that Levi would have enough compassion to save a werewolf.

Eren couldn't decide if he was lucky or not.

While figuring that out, Eren saw nothing worth while in the woods. No big hills to climb, no houses, no towns. Nothing.

It was getting bright. Sun was going to soon appear on the horizon. Eren needed to get back to Levi. The vampire must be tired by now. Eren wasn't feeling that much better himself. He made the final round and came across a big old tree that had fallen down. Eren checked it carefully. The ground under it was dry. It would provide the much needed cover for Levi for the day.

Eren returned to Levi and his guess was right. Levi was not walking as steadily as he should have. Eren nudged Levi on the side and Levi stumbled.

"Hey," the protest leaving from the vampire was tired.

Eren didn't let the vampire fall, grabbing the back of his shirt with his teeth quickly. He helped Levi stable himself and then nudged his head under the vampire's arm, trying to message him to get on his back.

"What?" Levi asked. He was darn happy to see the werewolf again but he didn't understand exactly what was it that Eren tried to do. He was exhausted. The gun he had been holding all this time, slipped from his hand to the ground.

Eren whined, still trying to maneuver Levi to his back by lowering down. This wasn't something he would normally do but he needed to get Levi to safety as fast as possible. If only the vampire took the hint!

"I can walk," Levi said but Eren growled at him. Levi laughed, not being able to stop himself. Levi had no idea where the werewolf was trying to take him but he complied, climbing on his back and holding on tight, his arms around Eren's neck.

Eren was careful with his speed and movements not to drop the exhausted creature on his back. Eren trudged the distance, knowing that they still had time.

He brought the vampire to the fallen tree. It was perched just above ground, still hooked to the ground by its roots. Helping Levi down, Eren watched as the vampire judged the tree with his eyes.

"This will do well," was all the Levi said. He was not happy about sleeping on the ground but if it meant survival then he could not complain. Feeling drained, he slumped on the ground, trying to find a good position to sit against the tree and try to get some sleep.

Eren watched the vampire sigh and grunt while rolling around like a small child not happy with anything. Eren decided to step in, literally. Nudging the vampire as close to the tree trunk as possible, listening to his little protests, Eren laid down. He licked Levi's face and got some more protests thrown on his face.

"Ugh, god damn, stop licking me!"

Eren licked some more out of spite. Levi had raised his dirty hands to prevent Eren reaching his face so Eren licked his hands instead. The taste of copper hit his tongue but the taste did not bother him. What did, was that he knew where the blood had come from.

"What are you doing?" Levi asked as Eren cleaned his hands, his long tongue sweeping over his fingers. Levi felt stupid for asking. The werewolf couldn't answer him. He let Eren clean his hands. His eyes were drooping and he let his hands fall on his lap because he was too tired to hold them up anymore.

Eren finished the cleaning as well as he could, seeing Levi falling asleep. He nudged the vampire closer to his own body, shielding him from any possible rays of sunlight and giving him some warmth. The days were not so warm anymore. Eren made sure that Levi was covered as much as possible. The vampire seemed to be already asleep and unconsciously seeking the heat, cuddling into Eren's side.

Looking at Levi's sleeping face, Eren wondered, before he closed his own eyes, how could someone with such an innocent looking face kill so mercilessly?


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8**_

* * *

Several times during the day Eren woke up, his ears picking up various noises, disturbing his sleep. None of those sounds were important, though. Only small animals going about their lives around them. A gust of wind went through the trees, rustling the leaves gently.

The peaceful nature around them had Eren believe that there was nothing bad in the world for a moment. The sun was setting but Levi was still asleep. He was no longer curled upon Eren's side and the sun light was not a threat, so Eren decided that he no longer needed to stay transformed. They did after all need to discuss things and he could hardly do it as a wolf.

As soon as Eren was back to his human form, he stretched his limbs. He shivered in the cool air, his arms above his head. He heard the leaves rustle on the ground where Levi slept. Eren glanced at the vampire who was rubbing his eyes. Eren didn't waste time as he blobbed down next to Levi, leaning on his hand. "Do you need blood?" he asked from his mate who was slowly returning to consciousness. "Do you think it is safe for you to drink it yet?"

Levi groaned. Just the mention of blood had his mouth watering and not just any blood but Eren's. "I think it's better if I don't." As hard as it was for him to say that, he did not want to take the chance that he'd get sick because of the blood.

"Alright," Eren simply said.

The way Eren looked down on him, made Levi overcome with the feeling that they were the only ones in the world at that very moment. The serenity of their surroundings strengthened the feeling.

"It's chilly out here," Eren randomly commented, shivering, not sure if it was just from the cold.

Levi just had to point out the obvious, "You are naked, you know?" Levi had not been in his right mind to even notice that Eren had shed his clothes back in the cell. His memories of those moments were a little fuzzy. But now it was hard to miss the fact.

Eren had the audacity to giggle. "I see you are alright then, hmm?" At least Levi had been paying some attention to his surroundings, Eren noted.

Levi narrowed his eyes slightly. "What?" He was not following Eren's logic.

"Because you noticed," Eren said flippantly. "Feeling frisky?"

Levi raised his eyebrows at the question. "No, not particularly."

"It's just that..." Eren leaned closer and trailed a finger down on Levi's cheek. "There is some time before the sun sets so I just thought.." Eren trailed off, letting the suggestion hang in the air. It was true that they'd need to wait out until the sun was truly beyond the horizon. Eren was sure that Levi did not want to risk of getting burned just because they were on the run.

Eren's suggestion had come out of nowhere. "What exactly goes on in that furry head of yours?" Levi asked, tilting his head to the side into Eren's touch.

Eren blushed, his ears flattening themselves against his head. "Nothing, absolutely nothing." He was embarrassed, averting his eyes from Levi's face. Why had he even said anything?

Eren tried to pull his hand away but Levi grabbed it quickly, giving the palm a small kiss meant to calm his mate. "I wouldn't say that since you came up with this suggestion."

Eren tried to play it off appearing casual. "Just to kill time, you know."

"Just to kill time," Levi repeated Eren's words with his tone full of suspicion. "You could try to be a bit more romantic you know. Would it hurt your little werewolf tongue, hmm?" Not that Eren's tongue was small, Levi had come to notice that.

Eren was floored. "What? You want me to be romantic? Since when?" He would have thought that Levi would not care for such things.

"Isn't that how it is supposed to go?" Levi asked. "You seduce me and I might consider your offer."

"I hate you already," Eren frowned but a smile fought its way on his lips.

"I love you too," Levi said as a joke but the look on Eren's face made him regret it. A cold feeling seeped into the pit of his stomach.

Eren went pale, his eyes no longer warm. Eren slipped away, turning his back to Levi as he got up. "Never mind. I'm going for a run," he said before transforming and dashing to the woods.

Levi sighed, sitting up. It seemed his joke had hit home and not in a good way. He ruffled his hair to get the leaves and dirt out. He could not wait to be back at home.

Home.

That place had never felt like his true home. His clan members had always thought his uncle was weird and thus labeled him into the same category. Not bonding to anyone had not really helped the cause. In his clan bonding was the highlight of vampire's life and of course if possible, it was best to bond to someone who would benefit you in some way. It was all politics and Levi hated it.

But now he had a mate, someone he was bonded to. Yet, he had just caused him to run away from him.

Success!

Levi made a note not to joke about things such as love. He pondered whether or not to ask about it from the young man once he got back.

In the meanwhile, Eren ran.

He ran until he was out of breath.

He had panicked. It hurt to hear such words fall so easily from Levi's lips. Eren knew he was joking and that was why it hurt. Eren knew he was being stupid. He knew but still he had wanted to drown the pain in his heart with real, physical, one.

It was the lack of emotion that scared Eren. Levi joked, saying things but there was no real emotion behind anything he said. Eren did not get back from Levi the happiness that he associated with jokes. He didn't really know much about Levi. What had the vampire told him about himself? That he was over two hundred years old, that he... was fine with killing? Was that it? Eren couldn't remember anything else that stood out.

Eren looked towards the direction he was supposed to go. He would need to talk to the other man but he did not want to leave the wolf form. He felt at home while roaming around as a wolf but there were plans and things they needed to discuss no matter how Eren felt.

Eren started his jog back. The feeling of hunger reminded him that he'd need to find something to eat. Levi had it easy, didn't he? Maybe he could go hunt later on at some point? Either way Eren needed to get back to Levi and man up enough to talk to him.

When the fallen tree came into view Eren transformed back to human form and walked the last hundred meters. His soles were used to the rough ground. But still he shivered. He needed to get clothes if they intended to carry on like this.

As soon as Eren reached the spot he had left Levi at, he asked, "Where are we going?"

"Home."

The answer was simple but to Eren it meant venturing into territory he probably shouldn't go. "Your home?"

"Yes." Levi had to explain it to Eren. "We need to at least stop there. I need to inform them of my situation."

"You mean me." It was not a question but a statement and it was confirmed with a nod from Levi. "And who are _they_?"

"The council of elders who ran the clan's business. It would be extremely rude of me not to tell them that I'm bonded." It would be more than that. Levi had no idea how heavily they'd take the fact that he was not mated to another vampire but to a werewolf. Worst case scenario would include total exile for him and of course for his mate or that was what Levi hoped would be the worst they'd do. They would not benefit anything from killing Eren but somehow Levi could still imagine them doing it anyway. Levi pushed that thought aside, hoping that he would not need to think of it ever again.

Eren didn't quite understand it as in his pack they were free to do as they pleased. Well, most of them were, Eren thought bitterly. "Are we going to stay there?" Eren missed his home and if Levi wanted to stay with his clan then what could Eren do? Fight for his right to return home as well?

"If we can, we probably should for some time. It all depends on how they take the news. Either way I need to speak with my uncle about this whole ordeal." His uncle might have some insight on those people who had captured them. His uncle traveled a lot and thus heard things that might not normally reach their clan's ears.

"I should get home as soon as possible," Eren told him. "They must be worried sick." Eren could only guess how badly his mother and father were looking for him. Not to mention his friends and other pack members.

Levi nodded. "Then we will make our business with the council as brief as possible and I'll take you home."

Eren couldn't stop the relieved smile forming on his lips. "Thank you," he said and really meant it.

"It's not a problem, kid." Levi didn't know exactly how to respond to something so sincere. That smile of Eren's could melt the whole polar cap if he tried. "We need to get you some clothes. It is not decent to walk around naked, you know."

Eren smirked. "Is it bothering you?" He considered traipsing around naked more often if it did bother the vampire.

"You gotta be kidding me," Levi murmured under his breath. "Are you some sort of exhibitionist?"

"What is wrong with me being naked? It makes transforming so much faster and I don't need to worry about tearing my favourite shirt or something each time." Besides it was fully normal for him to be naked. No one in his pack batted an eye if someone walked around naked.

"So you can transform at will?"

"Yes, of course I can. Full moon is the only exception," Eren said as if it was obvious. Eren was growing impatient with all this waiting. They would need to get going soon. The sun had just disappeared beyond the horizon. "Have you figured out where we are?"

"Somewhere north I'd say, we need to get south which is where we came from."

"Shit," Eren cursed.

"My thoughts exactly."

"Guess we need to get going then? How far do you think we'll get in during the night?"

"We have seven or so hours to find somewhere to spent the day at before the sun rises again. We have quite a distance to travel. We need to get far in south where my clan lives. I am able to tell you the exact distance once I am sure where we are."

"We need to get around that hellhole we just got out from."

"We will. They might be searching for us but don't worry, they won't catch us. We'll stay far away from it."

"We could sprint past it if I carry you. I can't carry you the whole way to your home though. I'm not a horse." Besides he had no idea where he was going.

"And I would not ask you to. I have my pride."

He is ashamed to be seen with you, Eren thought. This is going to be great, just perfect, such sarcastic thoughts filled his head.

Levi was left to wonder what Eren was mad this time? He could sense it through their bond like a little itch that he wanted to rid of. "What did I do now?"

"What?" Eren asked irritated.

"I did something wrong obviously. Eren, tell me."

"Tell you what? That I have my pride too but I still offered to carry your sorry ass past those guards if there is any!" Eren just exploded. He couldn't control himself and he didn't know why.

Levi was a little shaken but he tried not to show it. He doubted that telling Eren to calm down was going to do anything. It would make it worse. He did not want to go through the wrath of a werewolf.

So he did the next best thing he could think of. He moved fast, kicking Eren off his feet. The werewolf looked surprised but he had no time to retaliate when Levi captured him in his arms and sank his fangs into his neck.

The act did everything Levi needed it to do. Eren relaxed in his arms, gasping for breath. Not only because of the bite but also because of the cold metal of Levi's shackles around his wrists coming into contact with his skin. Levi did not, however, swallow the blood he sucked into his mouth. He pulled away, spitting it out on the ground. He hated to waste such a delicious thing but the risk of getting sick was too high. "Have you calmed down?" he asked already knowing the answer. He licked the puncture wounds to close them.

"Yeah," Eren said breathless, clutching on Levi's shirt. "I don't know whether to be happy or angry, though." Not knowing whether to be happy or angry about the fact how easily Levi calmed him with a single bite. Eren felt his mark tingle and that was something he did not appreciate at this moment.

"When you are ready, we need to go. Transform if you like. We are going east and try to reach the coast. We could take a ship or a train from the coast to south," Levi listed their options as the image of the map of the country flashed in his mind. If he was right then they would have no trouble getting home overall. "If it is safe that is," he added as an after thought.

"I think going to coast is far better idea than trying to get around that building." Eren liked the idea a lot. It would mean they could escape by mingling among people, hide away without making much of an effort.

"Indeed, but we still need to be careful. We'll steal some clothes wherever we find some." Levi ran his tongue over his teeth. The blood left a weird after taste inside Levi's mouth. He wondered if it was because of the vaccine. He'd give it some time before he actually fed from Eren. Just to be on the safe side he might have to keep his hunger at bay for quite a while. At least he was not hungry yet which was a good situation to be in.

Eren cleared his throat. "You can let me go now." Levi held him as if he was something precious which Eren doubted the vampire would ever call him.

Without a word Levi gently released Eren from his arms. He stood and looked at the horizon, where the sun had disappeared behind, before setting towards the opposite direction. "It is going to be a cold night. You are better off in wolf form, Eren." By the time the words had left his mouth Eren was already walking by his side as a wolf. "Good boy," he said, patting Eren on the head.

As an response he got a short snarl but Levi picked up no real anger from the young wolf.

As they made their way towards the coast Eren realized he had not apologized for his sudden outburst. But he also noticed that Levi did not even seem phased by his angry words and thus not asking for an apology. Either way, Eren decided that when he had the chance he'd say he was sorry. He didn't know what had suddenly come over him. He had lost complete control of his emotions. He had boiled over like a kettle.

The growing hunger did not help with the uneasy feeling he had been feeling for a while now. His emotions were all over the place and he could not settle for anything. One minute he wanted to be really close to Levi and the next he hated his guts. Not to mention the sick feeling that sloshed inside him, getting stronger every now and then.

Eren was walking ahead of Levi when he suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to vomit. He hadn't eaten anything so he ended up dry heaving but it did not go unnoticed by Levi who reached him in a few strides.

"Are you alright?" There was concern in Levi's voice which Eren found surprising.

Eren shivered but this time from wave of the nausea. He could not explain this. It certainly could not be anything he had eaten. Eren ignored Levi's inquiry and as soon as he felt fine again he walked on.

Levi watched the wolf go with a worried look on his face. Was the young wolf really fine? The vaccine could have any type of side effects on Eren. Then he heard the growling of Eren's stomach. "Eren, wait." The wolf stopped but did not turn to look at him. "You need to eat. We can hunt if you want."

There had been no signs of anyone living in these woods so only choice was to hunt. The woods were full of life at night. Even at the moment Levi could pick up sounds around them.

"No, just wait here," Levi told Eren suddenly. "I'll get you something."

Before Eren could protest the vampire was gone. And so Eren just sat down. He was secretly grateful that Levi had offered to go. He was feeling a bit squishy, not knowing if he could keep still long enough to stalk a prey.

A wave of nausea washed over him again but this time Eren did not have to heave. He sat and listened to any sounds of Levi returning. It took a while before suddenly the vampire hopped next to him. Eren jumped a little.

"You must be seriously unwell if I managed to scare you," Levi said noticing Eren's reaction. He hadn't even tried to be quiet on his way back. The werewolf had been on his own world. Levi waved two little rabbits in front of Eren. "Are these good enough?"

Eren did not even want to know how the vampire had managed to get his hands on the rabbits. Eren would have imagined them to be too fast for the vampire to catch.

"Do not wolf these down too fast," Levi advised with a smirk.

Eren would have made a face at him but he was too hungry to bother.

Levi dropped the rabbits in front of Eren and watched as the wolf ripped into their soft flesh like nothing. Levi was worried. The werewolf did not seem willing to tell him what was wrong with him. If this continued Levi didn't know what he was supposed to do? Should he suck the bad blood out of Eren? Would something as such help the young wolf?

Eren ate a small amount at first, fearing for the nausea to come back. He left the other rabbit untouched for a few minutes. The food seemed to stay down so he finished his meal. He took a step towards Levi who quickly raised his hands in front of his face.

"I get it, don't even think of licking me!" There was no way he'd let the wolf, who had just eaten raw meat, lick his face.

Eren's chuckle came out as a string of odd whines. He pressed his head under Levi's arm, nudging his ribs gently. He just wanted to show how grateful he was.

"You just like a regular dog, aren't you?" Levi teased the wolf whose eyes were peering into his own. The werewolf snorted at him. "I hope you are feeling better now. I can't have you passing out on me when you are transformed." Levi did not want to know how heavy the wolf was. Carrying Eren in his human form would be no problem but he didn't even know where to start with the huge wolf.

Levi was scratching Eren behind his ear absentmindedly until he realized what he was doing, stopping immediately. "Right, let's go," he said, his voice and appearance uptight.

Eren was disappointed when the nice scratching stopped but he guessed that was the pinnacle of the amount of affection he could get out of the vampire.

Eren picked up his pace after about half an hour of walking. He jogged faster and faster until he broke into a run. He thought he had seen something up ahead and he wanted to check it up before Levi reached it.

What he saw, when he reached the top of a small hill, gave him hope. There was a small cottage in a valley. What Eren had first saw was the smoke coming the chimney, illuminated in the darkness by the moonlight. Someone was home. There were lights in the windows. Eren could even see someone moving inside, casting shadows.

Eren returned to Levi as fast as he could.

The vampire had also picked his pace slightly when the werewolf had disappeared into the distance. He wondered what the wolf had seen. He didn't need to guess for long when Eren materialized into his human form just a few meters away from him.

"There is a cottage not far from here. There are people there so we could ask for directions or something," Eren suggested.

"And what do you think they'll say when you show up at their door completely naked?"

Eren looked startled but regained his composure quickly. "I did not mean it has to be me!" he hissed at Levi.

Levi eyed him amused by his reaction. "Then help me a bit," he told the werewolf, showing him one of his wrists. "Tear this sleeve up some more so I can fit it through under the shackle. We cannot let them see these or there will be a gun on my face faster than I have time to say 'We come in peace'."

Eren did as Levi requested and they fixed the sleeves of his button up shirt over the shackles to best of their ability. Eren checked his overall appearance. "There is blood on your shirt."

"That won't be a problem."

Eren grabbed hold of Levi's arm when the vampire was about to walk past him. "You won't kill them, right?"

Levi looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "I am not going to kill anyone as long as I don't have to. I'll just talk to them and if they do not tell us anything then we go on our way. End of story."

Eren nodded as he released the vampire.

"You better come along as a wolf. Just in case we need a speedy escape."

Eren didn't answer as he transformed while Levi walked towards the direction Eren had come from. Eren led him to the cottage and Levi stopped to look at it for a while.

"Looks like a hunter's cottage. This could be a problem. You better stay out of sight until I am sure they won't shoot me on sight."

Eren watched silently as Levi made his way to the cottage, hoping that everything would be fine.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9**_

* * *

Levi knocked on the door of the cottage, hiding his hands behind his back, trying to appear casual. What Levi had not told Eren was that he had every intention of getting whatever he could out of this cottage. Eren didn't need to know of his plans. The werewolf would have stopped him.

Levi listened to the movement inside the cottage, getting ready to face whoever it was that would open the door. Levi readied himself to pull off the best performance of his life. Soon enough he was face to face with a burly man with a beard that reached his belly.

"What can I do for you?" the burly man asked with suspicious look on his face. Guess no one really comes by these parts.

"Hello, I got separated from my hunting party earlier today and then I saw the lights here so I thought that maybe you could tell me exactly where I am so I could find my way back to my friends?" Levi gave the man the kindest smile he could muster.

"You were hunting?"

"Ah yes, well no. I was doing the skinning and I said I'd be fine on my own but guess not," Levi said and laughed awkwardly. It was a pain to pretend to be a freaking idiot.

The man looked at him as if Levi was indeed an idiot. "Well we are five kilometres from the border. The lake Chia is one kilometre that way," the man said, pointing out behind Levi. "And this is the Valley of Lilies."

"Aaah!" Levi let out an uncharacteristic yelp. "Now I know where I am!" He smiled widely, smirking knowing his fangs were showing. He saw the man's eyes widen for a brief moment before Levi punched him in the face.

The burly man fell, unconscious, to the ground. "Thank you for your kindness, sir," he said with a monotone, his voice coming down from the high pitch one he had used when talking to the man.

Levi heard the wolf paws hit the ground in rapid pace as he stepped over the body of the big man passed out on the door way. "He is not dead," Levi said to Eren who appeared at the doorway seconds later. "I just knocked him out. Don't worry, he'll be fine."

Levi took a quick look around the cottage, trying to spot anything that they might need. He saw a trench coat, hanging on a coat rack, clearly not belonging to the burly man. Surely he wouldn't miss that. He rummaged through every single place he could think of to find Eren some clothes. He came upon an oversized sweater and a pair of horrible looking pants with camouflage print on them.

"These will have to be good enough. What do you say?" He showed the pants to Eren but the werewolf stayed in his wolf form. "Guess so." Levi put the coat on and placed the other clothes on his arm. He remembered Eren's ears. He took a ridiculous looking hunting cap from the coat rack as well.

Last thing he took was any money he found on the guy's belongings. There was only a fifty in his wallet. They wouldn't get too far with that but it was better than nothing. "We're good to go," Levi told the werewolf.

Being considerate, Levi closed the door after himself. The burly man would really appreciate that when he woke up and noticed he got robbed.

Making his way towards east, Levi tried to put as much distance between them and the cottage. He knew Eren was following him, without a doubt the wolf was doing so but what Levi did not expect was that suddenly after two minutes of walking he was wrenched around by his arm.

Levi found himself in Eren's arms who was once again in his human form. Levi was about to ask what it was that Eren was doing when the werewolf kissed him. "Mhph-!" Levi's words died on his lips as they were devoured by the young wolf.

When Eren was done, he pressed his forehead to Levi's and said, "You didn't kill him."

Levi had been taken by surprise. He had not focused on Eren's feelings at all. Maybe if he had he might have known Eren would do something like this. "I said I wouldn't," Levi told him softly. He could understand that Eren was suspicious of him.

"I just.. I am so glad you didn't." Eren hesitated with his words. He felt relieved that Levi had not killed the innocent man. When he had seen Levi swing his fist at the man, Eren had been sure that the man would end up dead. He was regretting that he had not believed Levi when the vampire had promised him that he would not kill anyone. "I'm sorry."

Levi picked upon the feelings of the werewolf when he was still being held in his embrace. "You don't have to be. It is natural you would assume differently." Levi was not going to defend himself to Eren. Eren had nothing to be sorry about. "As much as I love hugs from naked men, we need to get going," Levi said. "We have about twenty kilometres to travel in five hours before the sun shows its nasty face again. We should be able to reach a small town by then." Levi dearly hoped their money would be enough to buy a room for the day.

Despite Levi's words, Eren kissed him again. This time his kiss was tender and left Levi feeling uncomfortable. Eren was showing his appreciation through the kiss and Levi was not sure how to respond to it. He wasn't especially good in relationships and now he had been thrown into one that he was supposed to manage keep together as long as he lived. Besides he had noticed Eren's mood swinging from one end to the other.

What would happen if he made the werewolf truly mad at him?

Would he be able to fix it?

They certainly would not be able to live separately, not for a while at least. So Levi kissed Eren back, slipping his hand behind Eren's head. Their kiss grew intense and it was Eren who pulled back first.

Levi smirked, touching Eren's cheek in what could almost be called a loving way. He had made the young wolf retreat from something he had initiated. "We'll continue this later," Levi told him, letting his eyes tell a story as they swept over Eren's lips before looking into the green orbs.

"You promise?" Eren asked, suddenly interested in what Levi's words promised.

"Yes, I promise."

Eren let him go, pulling back and transforming without saying anything else.

The next four hours they walked, occasionally picking up the pace when the terrain permitted. Levi was surprised that Eren could stay quiet for so long. He had expected him to turn into human once in a while to talk and pester him but no, the werewolf kept sniffing and scouting ahead of him and guiding him to the easiest way to cross swampy areas and such. Eren was actually useful to have around.

Levi noticed that Eren had suddenly stopped, standing still a few ten metres ahead of him. Levi made it to where Eren was and he didn't bother to ask what it was. He listened and looked around to see what could have made the werewolf stop.

Eren looked at him and then back towards the direction that he had been staring. Levi narrowed his eyes and then he saw it, there was a house in the distance, peeking through the trees.

"That probably is at the outskirts of the town," Levi said quietly. "You better put the clothes on." Levi gestured to the clothes still in hanging over his arm. He watched as Eren returned to his human form and gave him the pants first. They were too big for Eren but Levi ignored it, giving the ugly sweater next. Last thing was the hat.

"You'll look ridiculous in these," Levi retorted but helped Eren to fix the hat to cover his ears.

"These pants are not going to stay on me." Eren had to keep the pants on with his hands or they would drop if he took even one step.

Levi undid the cravat around his neck and stepped in front of Eren. "Lift the sweater," he told the confused young wolf.

Eren did as he was told, wondering what this plan was. Levi looped the cravat through the first few loops on the pants and then he pulled, making the pants tighter. "This should help somewhat," Levi told him, tying the fabric into a good enough knot to last a while.

Levi stepped back, taking a good look at the attire of Eren's. "You looked much better naked, I have to admit that." Eren looked more than hilarious, utterly ridiculous. The furry hat covering his ears was perched weirdly, his pants were too big and hang around his hips in a tight bundle now and the sweater, that luckily covered the make shift belt, was just ugly as hell, a chaotic mix-mash of colors, none of them looking good together. It looked as if a color-blind person had made it and no one had dared to tell them the truth of how ugly it looked to everyone else. Probably a Christmas gift from the mother of that burly man.

Eren shrugged, getting used to wearing clothes again. "I'm going to get out of these as soon as possible."

"That's the plan, kid," Levi teased his mate, knowing what the young wolf think. "But let's see if we can find an inn or something to spend the day at first, okay? Bath wouldn't seem bad idea either," he said the last thing under his breath, knowing fully well just how dirty he was but not wanting to think about it.

Trying to appear as casual as possible they made their way to the house they saw. Levi spotted a road leading away from it and they subtly evaded the inhabitants of the house by skipping their way to the road which seemed to indeed lead to a town. They could see more buildings and lights in some of the windows. Some people probably had not slept yet and some had just woken up. They had an hour or so before it would get risky for Levi to be outside.

They reached the town center in twenty minutes or so. Levi was more than happy to see an inn, hoping that someone was awake at five am. He thanked the god when the front door was open. There was a woman sitting behind desk, sipping on her morning coffee or tea while reading a newspaper.

"Good morning," Levi greeted and the woman was all smiles.

"Good morning lads! First time in Godensham?"

"Yes, we are planning on doing some hunting in this area," Levi said, not entirely lying since they had hunted something for Eren after all.

"Hunting you say, eh?" The woman seemed friendly enough continuing their little chit chat.

"Yes, we still need to buy some supplies. A whole day full ahead of us so we are not in a hurry." Levi did not even know what he was saying to the woman but who cared as long as they got a room to stay in. "How much for a room for the day? We need to store our stuff somewhere and get some sleep before the evening."

"Just for the day?"

"We plan on staying the night in the woods. All the good game is awake then." Levi wanted to roll his eyes. Of all the idiotic things to say he had to say such things but the woman didn't seem to notice.

"Sounds secretive," she smiled at them as if she was supposed to keep a secret. "Twenty for single bed room. That's all I have available at the moment, sorry. Do you require anything else?"

"It's alright." Levi was about to say no to anything else but then he remembered the state of their hygiene. "Is there a bath available in the inn?"

"I could warm up one for you."

"That would be much appreciated," gratefulness came across his tone as he spoke. He was truly feeling so. He could not wait to wash off the grime clinging to his skin. Levi dug for the twenty bucks that the woman wanted for the room. "What time do we need to give the keys back?"

The woman had already turned to fish out the keys from a small cabinet behind her. "When you leave in the evening is fine."

Levi offered her a smile. "Alright. Thank you."

"The room is the number six, down the hall and up the stairs. I'll come by to tell you when the bath is ready," she said, giving them the keys to the room.

Levi nodded grateful. He was about to walk away when a thought occurred to him. "Is there anywhere we could get food at this hour?"

"The market opens soon. There should be people there already setting up their displays. You can try there if you want. I will have breakfast ready at nine."

"Thank you," Levi said one more time before he lead Eren through the corridor and up the stairs. "What do you say we get you something to eat from the market? Something else than raw meat." He was sure they were out of the woman's earshot.

"Are you not hungry?" Eren asked, speaking for the first time since they entered the inn.

"No, I can go on for a few weeks without eating if I have to." Levi inserted the key to the door that had the number six on it and turned, unlocking the door with ease. The room was clean enough, some dust lingered on the surfaces but it was much better than what Levi had endured for the past five months.

Eren didn't quite understand why Levi wanted to point out how long he could go without eating. "But you don't have to." If the vampire needed to eat then he should just say so.

Levi wandered further into the room and looked at Eren, licking his lips. "I know." He knew just how good Eren's blood tasted but he'd rather not feed from him whenever he pleased. Eren was his mate and he wanted to show him some respect. But it seemed Eren had different ideas.

"You can take my blood whenever you feel like it," the young wolf said, rubbing the back of his neck as he closed the door behind them. Eren felt a bit awkward offering his blood to the vampire now that it was not a necessity to happen as often as possible. Despite Levi's words about surviving for weeks without feeding he felt uncomfortable if Levi did not eat regularly. Who knew if they ran into trouble and got separated? Eren didn't see any reason to take a risk.

"Just because you have a kink for it doesn't mean I am going to do it."

"I didn't mean it like that!" Eren hushed out, a blush appearing on his cheeks. "I don't have a kink!" he defended himself embarrassed that Levi would think something like that about him. What could he do about it that it felt good to be bitten by Levi? Was he supposed to feel ashamed about it?

Levi couldn't understand what was Eren's deal. One moment the werewolf was suggesting that they fuck in the woods and then next he is blushing over some blood sucking. Although the said act did make Eren feel flustered as Levi knew it did. It would probably take years for him to figure out how the mind of Eren's worked.

"What I meant is that I could never deny you the right to feed. That was the whole purpose of the bond wasn't it?"

What was Eren worried about, really? "Leave the blood sucking to me and stop worrying if I am eating enough or not." Levi made a guess what Eren could be so antsy about. Levi had assumed that this would be the last thing Eren would make an issue of.

"You could do the same, you know, stop worrying over my diet." The last time someone had been suggesting he had not eaten enough was the last time he saw his mother. Although Eren was feeling a bit weak. There was something wrong with him but this was like any other sickness he had ever encountered.

"Eren, for what I've seen you were sick in the woods and you ate only two little rabbits. Of course I am a little concerned if you are eating enough. The amount of food they gave you was not sufficient, even I can see that. You mortals eat so much more, you need so much more."

One word in particular caught Eren's attention in what Levi said. "Are you saying you are immortal?" What Eren had heard about vampires they were believed to be immortal but Armin had doubted it and made Eren doubt also. Maybe he would now hear the truth.

Levi wanted to sigh because of Eren's short attention span on the topic they had been on. "What I am saying is that you need to pay more attention to yourself. Because of the bond we share you will live a lot longer than anyone in your pack." Levi remembered that Eren had told him how old his father was and he could only guess how long a werewolf lived but he was sure Eren would outlive them still.

Levi's words made Eren widen his eyes. Eren had not thought that the bond would have such an impact on his life. "What? How long are we talking about?"

Levi shrugged. "How am I supposed to know?" He thought of the few humans that had been bound to vampires before and gave an estimate. "Some humans have lived for about five hundred years."

Fire hundred? Eren didn't even know what he would do for five hundred years. Most werewolves died around two hundred if they managed to survive that long. That was if they led a peaceful life in the older days. Many werewolves still lost their lives either in disputes between packs or being hunted by humans. Fear was a strong motivator for humans to hunt wolves believing they were all werewolves in disguised. "And how long do vampires live?"

Levi had to think about it for a while. "The oldest one I have heard of was two thousand and eight hundred years old." Levi humored his young mate by telling him what he knew. "The thing is that even vampires grow bored of life."

Eren paused to think what Levi actually meant with his words. "So you are saying that they eventually kill themselves?"

"Yes. Once their mate is gone, life becomes pointless and eventually there is no point to go on."

"But that's insane!" How could someone just end their own life?

"It is just as insane to live forever, isn't it? It takes a lot of mental strength to reach such age as thousand, Eren." Levi was still young compared to some people he knew but to Eren he was old. Everything is relative.

"But what about their families? Surely they miss them?" Surely a vampire who lived for thousands of years had children? Surely they even had grandchildren?

Levi stood silent, his lips pressed tightly together. He had had parents once just like any other being on earth. He thought that if he had not mated Eren, he might have ended up being alone for the eternity unless he was forced to pick a mate. But he had only few hundred years with Eren. They would not leave any children behind, would they? "But what if there is no one left?"

Eren fell quiet. He had not yet heard Levi sound so sad, his voice full of hidden sorrow. Eren was afraid to ask if there was anyone out there waiting for Levi. Eren didn't quite understand why Levi was so devastated by the idea of living forever. "But now you have me," Eren said, trying to lighten the sullen mood that had descended around them. Surely this would get rid of the sadness that practically emitted from the vampire.

Levi almost said what was on the tip of his tongue, I have you only for a fraction in time that I could spend on this earth. But he did not and ended up vaguely agreeing, "Indeed."

Eren was left with a weird sensation that Levi was not saying what he truly felt. He could only hope that one day he wouldn't have to guess what was on Levi's mind.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10**_

* * *

They made their way to the bathroom when the friendly innkeeper woman came to tell them the bath was ready.

"I left some towels for you on the stool," the innkeeper said with a smile.

"Thank you," Levi said politely to her in the passing.

Eren was pushed into the steamy bathroom by Levi who locked the door after them. The first thing that came off was Eren's ridiculous hat. "You look like a damn hill billy with this damn hat on." Levi threw it on the ground happily. "We need to get you something better."

"I had a bandanna before I was captured," Eren commented as he went straight into stripping. That hot water in the bathtub looked more than inviting.

As if reading his thoughts Levi spoke out, "Don't go in just yet. Let's rinse out the dirt first without spoiling all that clean water." Levi shed his clothes as well and took a sponge that sat at the edge of the bathtub. He dipped the sponge into the hot water and then rubbed a piece of soap and the sponge together. "I'll wash your back if you wash mine?" he suggested offering the sponge to Eren.

"Sure," the young man said a bit distracted by the naked partner of his.

"Eyes up here, Eren," Levi pushed Eren's chin up with a finger, forcing Eren to meet his eye.

Eren blushed lightly and cleared his throat. "Sorry."

"You seriously need to clean your mind as well it seems." Levi rubbed the soap on his arms and chest as he turned his back to Eren.

That might have been a slight mistake on his part as Eren pressed himself against his back a moment later. "Eren," he managed to say before his breath caught in his throat as Eren ran a hand over the bite mark on Levi's shoulder. Everything Eren was feeling at that moment washed over him like a tidal wave, leaving him breathless. He surely had been right about that mind cleaning part.

Eren was shivering, his breath washing over the side of Levi's face. He could not think of anything else than Levi and how good he felt in his arms right now as he wrapped his arms around his mate. The sponge dropped to the floor, forgotten.

"Eren!" Levi hissed when the young wolf hugged him tightly. "This is not the time."

"I think it's the perfect time," Eren whispered, running his hands over Levi's abdomen.

"No," Levi said, trying to gently pry Eren's hands off himself. "Either you calm down right now or you wait outside." He hoped his words would make Eren see reason and that the werewolf wasn't too lost in his lust. "Eren," Levi said with a warning laced into his tone.

"But I want you," Eren sounded defeated which made Levi pause.

Levi sighed as Eren's arousal affected him too. "Don't think I don't know that." Levi's skin was on goosebumps. "Eren," he tried with a softer tone. "We'll continue this once we are back in our room but now let's clean up."

Eren was silent for several minutes after he finally let Levi go. He washed Levi's back deep in thought, trying to contain his excitement. He didn't want Levi to get angry at him. He had noticed a slight amount of annoyance coming from the vampire. Eren hoped he had not crossed the line with his behavior.

Levi still couldn't understand how or why the werewolf could be so horny. He certainly had not given the werewolf any of such ideas but Eren had suggested and come on to him several times in a mere day. Something wasn't right with the young wolf. Levi wanted to ask if werewolves were always this horny creatures just to know if he had to be living like this for centuries. There was nothing wrong with sexual desire but everything had a limit.

Putting such thoughts aside Levi continued washing himself. The foam and water on his skin turned ugly brown and he hissed with disgust. While Eren washed his back with slow movements, obviously avoiding his buttocks, Levi raised a leg to the edge of the tub and spread soap on it as well. "Fucking disgusting," he muttered as the soap did its job.

There was a small ladle at the edge of the tub which Levi picked up to wash himself off. Once he was done rinsing most of the dirt of his skin, he gave Eren all his attention, snatching the sponge from the werewolf's hands.

Eren looked guilty just like a dog would when they have done something wrong.

"Oh Eren," the vampire said with a sigh. "No need to look so depressed." He didn't dare to do anything to Eren that might tempt the werewolf although he thought of slapping his bare ass. Had they been alone at his home then he would have given into Eren's lusty ways. "I have nothing against your advances but everything has a time and place, Eren."

"I don't know what's wrong with me," Eren said quietly, pondering his own condition. "I have never felt like this before."

Levi thought that the answer to that was rather obvious since Eren had not been mated before and from what Levi had gathered, physicality was one thing that Eren seemed to require. "I'll make a wild guess and say that this possibly has something to do with the mating?"

"But it doesn't make sense." Eren rubbed his forehead as he tried to make sense out of this. What he had heard about mating this was not supposed to happen. Not to him at least.

"Why not?" Levi was intrigued. Eren seemed absentminded so Levi took the initiative and rubbed the soap on the werewolf's skin before running the sponge over it.

"Because..." Eren trailed off. "I shouldn't have a heat." His craving for sex made no sense to him. It should have ended after the first time. There should not have been a second time. These sensations he was having started to point out towards a heat more than anything. Maybe it had something to do with him being with Levi?

"And what makes you think you are having one?" Maybe now Levi would get that answer to why Eren was so horny. He probed Eren's shoulder to make him turn around so he could wash his back.

Eren turned around with a sigh. "I don't know how to explain this in any other way. I don't even like you."

Levi had to laugh. The way Eren said with such a confusion evident in his voice made it funny. Although he could agree with Eren somewhat. It wasn't exactly love or even mutual interest that had brought them together.

He finished washing Eren's upper torso. Eren luckily had not been in the cell for as long as he had so his skin was much cleaner than his.

"Okay maybe a bit. You did save my life." Eren could never tell him with words how grateful he was for it. Eren had felt true terror when Levi had told him he had been in that cell for five months. He had been sure that he would share Levi's fate. Eren felt a bang on sadness as he thought back how tired Levi had looked when he had seen him the first time.

"You saved mine first, you know." Levi didn't know why there was sadness emitting from Eren but he did not ask about it. The memory of being held captive was not really a happy one for either of them. "Get in the tub," Levi told him.

Eren hummed not really knowing how to carry on the conversation from there. He knew that if he tried to be modest then Levi would shut him up and he would not get anywhere with his reasoning.

"Just don't jizz in the tub," Levi said and Eren almost slipped as he stepped into the tub.

"Jeez!" Eren hissed as he sat down in the warm water. It felt good. But what also was good, was his mate climbing into the tub as his company. "It's too small for both of us," Eren tried to say as skin on skin contact was about to become inevitable.

"We'll manage," Levi reassured him as he maneuvered into the tub to sit face to face with Eren. "Spread your legs," the vampire said.

Eren had to gulp. "This is not a good idea," he said warning Levi with a high pitched tone.

"Relax." Levi settled between Eren's legs, raising his own over them to either side of Eren's. "This way we'll fit into here better and you won't have to worry about too much touching."

"I still think this is a bad idea."

"I gave you the choice to wait outside. Maybe you should have taken it?" Levi suggested with all knowing tone.

Eren cursed under his breath about overconfident, teasing vampires. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back. "You are not a nice person."

"You are hurting my feelings, Eren."

"No, I'm not." Eren didn't get sort of hurt feelings coming from Levi. The vampire was lying to him, making fun of him.

Levi really wanted to tease the poor werewolf but as he had said, they needed to wash themselves first. Levi had the soap in his hands and he still needed to wash his hair. Who knew what kind of creepy crawlies were living among his hair. Not exactly the level of attractiveness that he desired to have. Because let's face it, he had someone now and the least he could do was to look good for his mate. What kind of mate would he be if he did not take care of his own hygiene? Or Eren's for that matter.

"Come here," Levi urged the young wolf. "Your hair still needs to be washed."

Eren slowly opened his eyes, peering back at the vampire holding the soap. "I can do that myself."

"Good. I wouldn't know how to wash your ears anyway." Levi gave the bar of soap to the werewolf and leaned back himself, giving Eren some space.

Eren kept his eyes closed as he washed his hair. He did not want to see what was right in front of him. He would surely lose control if he had to look at Levi's naked form any more than what was necessary. Soon he wouldn't need to hold back. Soon, just a little while longer. Those were the mantras he kept chanting to himself inside his head.

Levi took the ladle while Eren scrubbed his scalp and ears like a madman. "Are you ready?" he asked as he scooped the ladle full of water. Eren nodded and Levi poured the water over his head. He repeated the process until Eren's hair was clean of soapy water.

Eren ran his hands through his hair. He was taking deep breaths, scared to open his eyes.

"If you are done, you can leave," Levi spoke softly, knowing that Eren was at his limit. He didn't even need to sense it, it was plain to see that the young wolf was struggling. Levi guessed it was right what they said about succumbing to your instincts. Besides he was sure that something similar would occur today that had happened in the cell between them.

As Eren had said, it was probable that he was in heat but the reason was unknown. One could say that if they were lucky, Eren would go back to acting normal after today. Levi needed him to go back to normal before they set forward on their quest. He couldn't have the werewolf humping his leg all the way through the country.

"Eren," Levi said, touching Eren's knee lightly. "Go to our room. I'll be there shortly." He lifted his legs away from Eren and sat up to let Eren out.

Eren had to agree. He would have loved to soak in the warm water for longer but he did not know how long he could take this idle sitting next to his mate in this condition. He scrambled out of the tub, snatching a towel from the stool and quickly wrapped it around his waist.

"Don't forget to cover your ears," Levi advised as he saw the haste the werewolf was leaving with. Eren grabbed his dirty shirt and bundled it upon his head before exiting the bathroom. He rushed to their room as fast as possible without seeming too suspicious.

As soon as he entered the room, Eren threw the dirty shirt on the ground. He wrenched the towel off his waist as well, striding his way to the bed. He was so frustrated that he did not even know which way to get on it. He wanted to tear his hair off and claw his skin to make himself think of something else than sex for one minute. He paced next to the bed as he ran his hands through his hair but did not give into the urge of tearing it.

Levi had told him that he'd be there in a moment. Levi would be here soon. Then all of this would go away. "Shit," Eren cursed out loud as his mind dove into fantasies of what he'd want Levi to do to him.

He crawled on the bed and sat on his legs, spreading them apart as he touched himself. His fingers found a way to his ass, which he found unusually wet. He paid no mind to it as the urge to sink his fingers was greater than any kind of question that he should have been asking about his bodily functions at that point. His other hand wrapped around his cock, and only thing better at that point would have been if Levi had been there, doing these things to him. A very small voice inside his head told him that he should be ashamed of himself for doing this. A voice which he did not listen to.

That was what Levi walked in onto. Levi had been about to say something about the innkeeper and how she had been ogling him as he had asked for the bowl of water that he was now carrying in his hands. He had fed her a crap explanation that they would need it for cleaning their hunting equipment. But any words about these things were not important at all when he watched the werewolf perched on the bed, pleasuring himself.

Levi laid the bowl down on the floor. He dropped the rest of their clothes somewhere else, not really paying that much attention to exactly where. He might have said a thing or two about Eren leaving his clothes behind but he didn't. He quickly shed himself of the shirt he had been forced to wear to hide the shackles around his wrists from the innkeeper.

Eren whined, reaching out as soon as Levi was close enough, and pushed himself flush against the shirtless vampire. His hand snaked behind Levi's neck, forcing him into a kiss. While being as if the devil himself, he ran his hand over the bite mark on Levi's shoulder, knowing that the vampire would not resist this time.

Levi did not resist as Eren wished and did the exact same thing to the young wolf. The feeling of pleasure was overwhelming when his own hand mirrored Eren's action over Eren's bite mark.

Levi was happy that he did not have to be scared of breaking Eren. The young wolf seemed not to be one for gentle caresses when it came to fulfilling his sexual desires. Although Levi would have wanted to take his time, tease the wolf into fulfillment but Eren clearly had no time for such things. Not if the way the werewolf kept, groping him, running his hands all over his body as if he wished to devour the vampire whole, was any indication.

"You promised," Eren whispered against Levi's pale skin, as he licked his collar bone, losing his mind slowly but surely.

"Yes, I did and I will keep my promise, Eren." How could he say no to this creature in his arms? He had never felt like this with anyone and he fully knew that it was because of the bond. Had he realized this earlier he might have taken the mate finding business a bit more seriously. But then again, how many vampires went through a heat like Eren did? He doubted that he'd ever experienced anything like this with another vampire. The bite marks were the major reason why anything of these feelings going through him were even there in the first place.

The blood magic bound them together but the bite marks gave concrete substance to their bond. The bond was like water which had been flavored by the physical mating and now they could not separate the two.

Eren unwrapped the towel around Levi's waist, throwing it somewhere behind Levi.

"Did you prepare yourself for me?" Levi asked, his voice dropping low.

"Yes," Eren almost purred out of satisfaction to hear something such as that been asked. Eren dragged Levi down with him, laying on the bed without hesitation nor fear towards Levi. Goosebumps appeared on Levi's forearms as he looked down at the young man who was welcoming him in all ways possible.

Eren pulled him down, licking his face and neck with long sweeps. Biting on to Levi's earlobe, the young werewolf wrapped his legs around Levi's waist.

Eren was clearly taking advantage of Levi's self healing abilities with this things. "I never would have thought you'd be some to enjoy biting others," Levi remarked, teasing his young partner verbally.

"Why haven't you bitten me yet?" Eren's breath washed over his ear, making it feel hot for a brief moment. Eren longed to feel those the fang pierce his skin. The pleasure it brought was easy to fall into and make him forget everything else. It would make it easy to justify his actions later on.

"Patience is a virtue," Levi said back to him.

"But I know you want it. Don't think I haven't felt your hunger for my blood." Eren had seen the way Levi sometimes gazed at him when the vampire thought he wouldn't see. Levi's eyes had looked at his neck more than once since they escaped and Eren was sure that Levi had partially at least bitten him in the forest just because of the urge to do so rather than to calm him.

The little shit knew about that? Levi thought he had been hiding his innermost urges better than that. Levi decided not to answer the young wolf. Levi pushed Eren's legs away. "I want to take my time with you. We were in such a hurry last time." They had nothing but time since the sun had come up. Levi had put his coat on the window to block out as much light as possible. The dim lighting of the room made Eren look something that should not be devoured in one bite but to be cherished over time, slowly.

Eren whined, not wanting to hear anything like that. "No," the werewolf cried as his legs were held apart by the vampire. "Take me and save your games for later," Eren said despite not having any plans on doing anything like this with Levi later on. Eren was uncomfortable with the idea that he would have to beg. He just wanted to be fucked, plain and simple. He didn't want any extra attention, this wasn't about that, such things were meant for lovers after all.

"Don't be a spoilsport, Eren," Levi complained in return. It had been a while since he had had such a lively lover. If he was honest then he had to admit that no one had ever been as fearless than Eren with him. Eren didn't seem to be phased that much by how Levi was physically restraining him from reaching the one goal the werewolf had. The young wolf only cried out, frustrated out of his mind. Levi had expected Eren to get physical, maybe even force himself on him. Yet, the werewolf was acting way more submissive than Levi thought he would. What a contradictory being Eren was.

"Alright," Levi consented to Eren's plea as he did not want to cause the young wolf any more discomfort than he already was. He could practically see the way Eren relaxed after the word of agreement left Levi's mouth.

Levi smirked when he saw Eren touching his own bite mark and Levi's tingled in response. The little devil was trying to be coy. The feather like touches of Eren's fingers were translated to his skin or that was what it felt like. "If you want it that much, maybe you should get me hard, wolf boy," Levi teased his mate. He wanted to see what the young wolf would do.

Placing his hand on Levi's shoulder, Eren reached for his cock. Levi complied by leaning on his elbow over Eren to make his job easier.

Fortunately for Eren this gave him the perfect access to the mark on Levi's shoulder. Eren wrapped his arm around Levi's neck. His mouth found the mark and his tongue swept over it.

"You little tease," Levi said, having a feeling that these things that Eren did to him via using the mark were instinctual for him. Eren didn't need to think about if it felt good or not, he knew it would.

Eren pumped his hand, kissing and licking the mark he had left on Levi's skin mere days ago. He was urged on by the soft groans escaping from his mate. Levi's hips were unconsciously starting to move to the rhythm that Eren set.

It all came to an halt when Eren's hand left Levi's cock alone. Eren had filled his end of the bargain. Eren let go, relaxing on the bed as he waited for Levi to do as he had promised.

With a pleased sigh, Levi straightened up. He raised Eren's hips and found that Eren was once again wet enough. He really had to ask about that for future reference when they were not in such a compromising position.

As Levi pushed into Eren, he could not keep his eyes from widening slightly. Once fully sheathed inside he stopped and said, "It didn't feel like this last time." Levi could not describe the feeling he was having. He felt dizzy but not exactly. He didn't know who was who. He could see Eren right there in front of him but yet it felt like he was everywhere at once. The feeling was amazing. He was pretty sure this was not how being inside someone had ever felt either.

"No, it didn't," Eren agreed as his whole body vibrated with anticipation and need. The onslaught of emotions and sensations was overwhelming. He couldn't wait any longer. "Fuck me," Eren demanded as he laid there at Levi's mercy.

Levi set a slow pace at first as he tried to get used to the weird feeling. He sought out to fully understand what this was and why he was feeling as if he had just found heaven. He did not want this to end and thus he had to deny Eren's apparent wish of a quick fuck. Eren was reaching out to him and Levi almost crushed him against the bed as he grabbed hold of Eren's legs.

Eren's nails dug into his back as Levi thrust into him. Any scratches were instantly healed but the Levi still felt the brief sting of pain. At this point it felt welcoming and nothing compared to things he had been through in the past half a year.

Eren struggled to keep himself in check so that he wouldn't let out any loud noises. It was only after six in the morning and all the other people in the inn were either asleep or about to wake up. Not that his cries would add much to the other noises they made already with the bed being a creaky thing.

"Let them hear," Levi whispered to Eren who seemed reluctant to let his voice out. So Eren did, not keeping back his noises that awaited to spill from his throat. But he was not alone, no. The room was filled with noises which they did not know who let out and it did not matter one bit as they lost themselves in each other.

* * *

**AN: **That was the last smut scene I write for this fic, seriously. Okay maybe one more but that will take a while to happen. Either way, this had a point.


	11. Chapter 11

_**AN: **This took a while, sorry about that :P _  
_But here we go once again!_

* * *

_**Chapter 11**_

* * *

Levi listened to the soft beat of Eren's heart. The rate of it had slowed down considerably. Somehow Levi had managed to control himself and not sink his teeth into that delicious neck of Eren's. He was glad he wasn't hungry enough yet. Although he didn't think that hunger had little to do with the desire to just taste the liquid on his tongue. He felt like a young vampire again because of Eren. The werewolf made him feel rebellious in some ways. He wanted to play with him in the same way he had been playing with lovers when he was younger.

Levi didn't need to be afraid that Eren would leave him when he already knew that Levi was a vampire. Levi's biting tendencies had brought trouble in the past which was why he had given up on finding anyone who would understand him. He had never found another vampire who would have not started to talk about mating with him and thus he had turned to playing with poor humans. Those said humans had not liked it when he turned out to be a monster.

His uncle had not liked that at all, neither humans nor his adventures with other young vampires. Not that he had had that many of those said adventures. His uncle had made a big issue out of it, saying he needed to act more composed if he ever wanted to find a mate worthy of his time.

Composed he had become when the fun had been taken out of the activities that he had undertaken. Even he saw it now that he had been reckless but he had been young. Maybe too young to understand that something might have gone wrong, something bad might have happened. It was ironic that when he had ventured out to drink from some young unsuspecting victim of his, he had gotten captured. He should have been more discreet but just for one night he had made too many risky choices and they had cost him his freedom.

Now that he laid there on the bed next to Eren, whose ears kept tickling his cheek whenever Eren flicked them, he realized that maybe it was not such a bad thing after all. He had a mate now, one that he somehow could see his uncle approving of even though Eren was of different species. The council would not understand, that was for sure, but that did not matter to Levi. Not unless they intended to harm Eren because Eren was everything he had ever wanted by his side.

If Levi saw himself as a monster, then Eren was a beast.

Levi certainly would not forget the fierce eyes of the wolf, looking straight at him, chilling him to the core.

"Levi?"

Eren's soft voice broke Levi away from his thoughts. The tone of the young wolf's sounded so out of place when compared to the memories he had just been recalling. "Yes?"

"What is out plan from here on?"

"We'll take a train to the south as far as we can get." Train seemed a good option because in the case of emergency they could get off it anywhere.

"I don't think we have enough money?" Eren asked worry coloring his voice.

"I'll fix that in the evening." Levi had a few ideas what to do.

"What do you mean?" Eren was terrified what Levi meant with his words. What would the vampire do? Would he kill people again? Eren didn't want him to do that for any reason.

"That I'll get us some money. Don't worry about it."

Levi's answer didn't comfort him at all. "Just don't-"

Levi interrupted Eren before the young man said what he was sure he'd say, "I won't kill anyone."

They fell into silence after that. Eren seemed to accept his promise.

Since Eren's heart beat and whole presence seemed rather relaxed Levi asked, "Are you back to normal?"

"Yeah," Eren answered, suddenly feeling self-conscious how he was glued to Levi's side, his arm over Levi's torso. But there was no room to wiggle away from him and if he was truthful to himself he didn't want to move an inch. It was an odd feeling but he went with it.

"So does mean there is no chance for a round two?" Levi asked half-joking.

Eren didn't feel any need for doing such a thing again. "I don't want to," he told Levi truthfully. It felt awkward to even think about it. He had no problem with the being close to Levi but he didn't want the intimacy that sex with him would provide. Eren felt vulnerable now that he was not in heat or whatever it was that had plagued him to mate with the vampire in the first place.

"No more lusty thoughts?" Levi asked if reading Eren's thoughts.

"Nope." Eren hoped that vampire would not push the subject any further.

"Shame. I would have liked to tease you a bit for being in such a hurry all the time," Levi teased, turning his head to lick the tip of Eren's ears.

Eren blushed, yelping while snatching his ear in his hand and pending it away from the vampire's mouth.

"How is it that you are blushing after we fucked like animals?" Levi asked, wondering about the reactions of the werewolf in general.

Eren blushed even harder. "I don't know!" the young wolf argued. "I was hardly in control of what I did." How should he explain it to someone who didn't experience such a loss of control?

Levi pondered what Eren said and he had noticed that the werewolf did seem ferocious when he was in need. There was a definite change in him. "Is that so.." Levi said lost in his thoughts.

"Yeah," Eren answered even if he didn't really need to.

Levi hummed as an affirmation that he heard him. "Either way," the vampire said. "Time to get cleaned up. I'll give you some money when you are done." Levi gently slipped away from Eren and made his way to the bowl of water he had brought with him to the room before Eren had distracted his thoughts and actions.

"Money? What for?" Eren asked confused as to where this was going.

"Since you can walk around during the day I think you could go and buy yourself a new shirt of coat or something. That cardigan is distasteful. You might find yourself a better hat as well. The innkeeper mentioned something about a market," Levi explained as he brought the bowl closer to the bed. He dowsed a towel in the water and offered it to Eren. "Clean yourself. You don't want to dirty your pants, do you?"

Eren spluttered but did as asked as Levi dressed up back into his own pants. Levi gave him the thirty or so bills they had.

"Is this all we have?" Eren asked eyeing the money worried that if he could spend it all.

"For the moment yes but as I said I'll fix that later. Now it is more important to make you look less suspicious. We don't want to gather too much attention to ourselves."

Eren nodded understanding what Levi meant. Levi came to him with his shirt in his hands.

"Use this to cover your ears instead of that ridiculous hat."

Eren smiled as he thought how silly he must have looked in that hat. Levi helped him wrap the shirt around his head and tie it properly. Levi would be left shirtless but Eren thought that was not a bad thing at all.

After Eren had dressed himself for this little shopping trip of his, he left to room and greeted the innkeeper at the entrance hall.

"There was an complaint about you two," the woman said her eyes narrowed.

"Oh," Eren blushed as he realized how loud they had been. Not to mention the time of the day too. It had been about six in the morning and apparently some people did not like to wake up to sounds of sex. "I'm sorry," Eren apologized quickly ducking out of the door.

The fresh air felt nice and the first rays of sunlight were appearing on the horizon. There were a few people mingling about, going to work or who knows where. Eren made his way leisurely towards what he suspected to be the center or the market area. He had no hurry since they couldn't leave until the sun had set. Luckily up in the north the sun would set fairly early.

Eren reached the marketplace and found a few people selling old clothes for cheap. He made a few good deals for a brown leather jacket that he really liked. He also bought two new shirts which were clean but had some rips and permanent stains, they were practically free. He also found a piece of cloth to work as a makeshift bandanna. At least Levi could have his shirt back. He almost forgot to buy a belt which took half of what he had left at that point.

He was left with five bucks and decided to save it instead of buying anything else. He was worried what Levi had meant that he would fix their money situation in the evening. He really didn't want to think about the possibilities but he had no choice but to trust Levi when the vampire said that he would not kill anyone.

Eren didn't still know where he stood with his mate. Levi was different from what he appeared to be. Eren had expected a cold attitude and personality but the vampire had a playful streak to him. Not too apparent but it was there. On the other hand when things got serious, so did Levi. Eren was glad to see though that the vampire didn't take things too seriously. That would have been a pain to live with.

Eren smiled to himself as he made his way back to the inn. He was happy that Levi didn't seem to have a problem with him being something not completely human. While Levi could pretend to be one for as long as possible, Eren would have to eventually reveal his ears and heaven forbid for full moon making him transform! Eren knew he would not survive in the human world for long. He was happy to live with his pack, safe from the dangerous intent of humanity.

So far the nearby villagers had left his pack alone. Eren suspected that no one was brave enough to go into the dark woods and check if the rumors of werewolf pack living nearby was true.

Sometimes there were people who did that but they turned back before they had a chance to find anything. Eren's father also had devised a plan if someone ever came too close. In the woods grew a berry that was poisonous, making whoever consumed them hallucinate heavily.

More than once had his father staged a poisoning like this and they would take the poisoned person back close to the village. People would think the traveler had eaten the berries on accident. The humans would never be none of the wiser.

But now Eren was not on his way home. Not yet but later. He was worried what waited for him in Levi's home. What would it be like? He was kind of keen to know because he had only heard of vampires living in grand estates as part of their legend. Eren wanted to see if there would be something worth telling Armin about.

Eren made haste through the front door of the inn, keeping his eyes fixated on the floor as he passed the innkeeper.

He let out a sigh of relief when he was back in their room.

"Everything okay?" Levi asked, looking Eren from head to toe. He was relaxing against the headboard of the bed.

"Yes, the damn innkeeper told me that someone complained about the noise." Eren mumbled as he walked to the bed and put down the clothes he had bought.

Levi smirked at him and Eren looked away, organizing the clothes. "I hope this fits you," he threw one of the shirts he had bought at Levi.

"It has dirty spots," the vampire injected.

"It's clean. Better than what you had."

"Definitely," Levi agreed after a while, sizing the new garment up. He pulled it on and seemed pleased with it, buttoning up the buttons.

"You can have your cravat back by the way. I bought a belt," Eren said as he untied the piece of cloth that kept his pants up.

Eren had not bothered to buy underwear as he had lost his during the transformation at full moon. Besides they were only going to get shredded if he needed to do a quick transformation again. He apologized to Levi for not even thinking about if the vampire wanted any underwear.

"I'm sure I can survive," the black-haired vampire said as he tied his cravat back into its proper place around his neck.

* * *

When the sun had set and darkness started to decent upon the town Levi had come up with a few plans on how to get enough money for the train fare. First he'd need to check when the next train would be leaving. He had forgotten to ask Eren to do it.

"Wait here. I'll be back soon."

Levi crept near to the front desk of the inn. He didn't show himself to the innkeeper who was sitting, reading a newspaper at the desk. He would have to take her out as silently as possible.

He eyed the door that was behind her. He guessed that was the room that she spend her nights and mostly probably everything on importance. He suspected that the door was locked. The ideal situation would be to just sit and wait for her to go into the room, unlocking it herself but Levi hardly had that luxury since anyone could come any minute to the scene of him hiding behind the corner stalking the innkeeper. Plus he didn't have that much time to waste.

He straightened himself, taking a few steps backwards on the hall and then walked to her as if he had just came from his room.

"Good evening," he greeted the innkeeper who gave him a suspicious glance.

"I hope your partner told you about the disturbance you two caused."

"Yes, he mentioned it. I'm sorry, he is such a passionate young man," Levi told her with a smirk. It was amusing to see her disturbed by their activities. Levi made his way out, popping the collar of his coat up as the smirk fell of his face. Levi didn't give a shit about what she thought. There was a scent of approaching rain in the air. That was unfortunate but they'd be able to handle it. With brisk pace he made his way towards the railway station.

He kept his distance from people, evading any direct contact on the buying street. For a small town there was awfully lot of people about.

Two men caught his attention, one of them leaning lazily against a wall. They were talking to each other but because of the mass of people between them made impossible to pick up the conversation. The two men were wearing the same style of uniforms as his captors. It was safe to assume that they belonged to the forces of those people. Levi made sure not to pay anymore attention to them or they might pick up his suspicious staring and realize he might be just the person to catch and interrogate.

Levi needed to be fast getting back to Eren. They had to get out of this town as soon as possible.

His trip was quick. He saw that there was a train going south in two hours and the price was not bad. He should be able to get that amount in time. But those men that he had seen on his way over to the station made him wary. It could mean that they were looking for suspicious activity such as people going missing. Levi had no choice but to go with his first plan. He couldn't afford to make a mistake in public and end up back where they started, imprisoned.

He re-entered the inn, immediately listening to the sounds going around. He heard nothing alarming.

So before anyone had the chance to come he darted the short distance to the innkeeper, clapping a hand over her mouth as a first course of action while twisting one of her arms behind her back as well. The woman didn't know what hit her before it was too late.

She squeaked in surprise but Levi gave her no time to go into full struggle mode. She was almost weightless in his arms as he dragged her out of the chair and to the backroom door.

"I won't hurt you if you co-operate," Levi told the shocked woman. "Open the door and you'll be fine."

The woman reached for the key around her neck with a shaking hand, whimpering as she couldn't possibly open the door without taking it off her neck.

Levi made a quick decision. He turned her around and yanked her head back gently enough not to break her neck and bit down. The innkeeper squeaked again, first in pain but then she let out a breathy moan as the pleasure settled in. Levi quickly ripped the key off from her neck, opened the door with some difficulty as he maneuvered the woman in his arms.

He pushed her into the backroom as soon as the door was open. She fell on the floor, dazed by her blood being sucked out of her and the sensation it brought. Levi closed the door and joined her on the floor to suck her blood again. It didn't taste good but he knew that if he sucked enough she would hopefully pass out from blood loss.

But before he did that he asked her with a sultry whisper, "Darling, tell me where you keep the money?"

The woman moaned and pointed at the shelf above her.

"Thank you," Levi said before he sank his teeth into her again. The innkeeper moaned yet again, grasping hold of the back of Levi's coat with her filthy fingers.

When the woman finally passed out as planned, Levi felt full. He might have to puke some of the blood out not to get sick. He decided to do just that after he had taken care of the evidence that anyone had ever bitten her. He lifted her on the bed that she had in the backroom. He suspected that she lived in this very room, not needing much to herself.

After he was sure that she seemed as if she was just sleeping, Levi searched the shelf that she had pointed at. Soon he found an old tin can filled with money. He searched for something better to put the money in and found a backpack. He emptied the money into it and put the tin can back to where it had been. He left the key of hers on the table and walked out of the room with the bag over his shoulder.

He made his way back to the room where Eren waited for him. Eren eyed him suspiciously as soon as he appeared.

"Dress up, we'll be leaving soon," Levi told him.

Eren didn't ask what was in the bag. Not while he dressed anyway. Levi made sure he looked fine, his ears covered properly. They left the ugly cardigan and hat in the room. Those would not be missed.

Within an hour they made their way out of the inn.

"Where did you get the money?" Eren asked. "And don't lie to me, please," he added quietly.

Levi was taken aback by the request somewhat. As quietly as he could, Levi whispered to him. "I robbed the innkeeper."

Eren's eyes went wide. "She was not at the front desk. Don't tell me you did something-"

"No, she was away when I took the money. I made sure of that," Levi lied to Eren easily. Eren didn't need to know what he had done to get the money. "I'm sure she went to the toilet or something," he said shrugging as they walked down the street towards the station. They still had some time but Levi would prefer to buy the tickets before hand.

Which is what Levi did, making Eren wait outside the station building. Levi joined him soon enough. "The train leaves in half an hour," the vampire told him.

Levi stood as close to Eren as possible without seeming suspicious. There were no benches to sit on. The only one was in use by the elderly.

Fifteen minutes later Levi saw the two men he had hoping to be avoiding, walking towards the station.

"Whatever you do," Levi whispered to Eren. "Do not look at the two men coming at us. Let them pass without paying any attention to them. I suspect they are part of the organization that held us captive."

Eren nodded, not looking anywhere near the men who were walking towards them. They had chosen a bad spot waiting for the train. Eren prayed in his head that the men would not know who they were.

"Do you really think they'd be here?" one of the men asked the other with disdain his voice. "This is the worst job I've had for a while. Why don't they just snatch some other beasts. They did let them escape after all," the man said as he passed the duo with the other man.

Eren held his breath, looking at his feet.

"Yeah, I don't understand what we can do about it," said the man's partner as they disappeared into the station building.

Eren let the breath out slowly afraid that a loud sigh would draw attention.

"You did good," Levi whispered to him, leaning close, praising his mate.

"Let's just hope they won't follow us into the train," Eren said quietly, leaning in as well as if they were talking about something no one else was supposed to hear which was true.

"Let's hope so," Levi said, straightening his back as he leaned away, casually standing next to Eren.

But as it turned out, when the train arrived the two men got on board the same train as they did. Levi started to formulate possible plan B's as soon as he and Eren got on the train. The two men seemed like idiots but Levi didn't want to leave anything to chance.


End file.
